The US displaced half of Okinawa’s population by the mid-1950s.

Evidence

In Okinawa, the military seized large tracts of land and bulldozed houses during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. Within a year, the United States had taken 40,000 acres and 20 percent of the island’s arable land. By the 1950s, the military had seized more than 40 percent of Okinawa’s farmland, ultimately displacing around 250,000 people, or nearly half the island’s population. A common refrain among Okinawans is that they lost their land by “bulldozer and bayonet.” A Navy officer would later say to the high-ranking Pentagon official Morton Halperin, “The military doesn’t have bases in Okinawa. The island itself is the base.” — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 200 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

U.S. forces immediately began building bases atop villages and fields for the planned invasion of Japan. Within a year, the United States had seized forty thousand acres—equal to 20 percent of the island’s arable land. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 841 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: US military ‘incidents and accidents’ killed dozens of Okinawans.; U.S. bases displaced about 250,000 Okinawans, nearly half the island’s population. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 200; The US seized one-fifth of Okinawa’s arable land within a year. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 841 (+1 more)

Related

• U.S. bases displaced about 250,000 Okinawans, nearly half the island’s population. (similarity 0.97)
• US troops policed 600,000 impoverished Okinawans after the war. (similarity 0.94)
• Base land seizures destroyed Okinawa’s farming economy and livelihood. (similarity 0.94)
• The US seized one-fifth of Okinawa’s arable land within a year. (similarity 0.92)
• U.S. military buildup displaced nearly half of Okinawa’s population (similarity 0.90)
• US displaced nearly half of Okinawa’s population and half its farmland (similarity 0.90)
• US base-building destroyed Okinawa’s farmland economy and left its people in poverty. (similarity 0.87)
• US bulldozers destroyed century-old Okinawan terraced fields within minutes (similarity 0.86)
• The 1945 Battle of Okinawa razed nearly every structure on the island (similarity 0.84)
• The US relocated over 3,200 Okinawans to Bolivia with broken promises (similarity 0.81)
• Military occupation of land is a net economic loss for Okinawa (similarity 0.81)
• Okinawa’s 1972 return to Japan left its U.S. base burden largely unchanged (similarity 0.80)
• The US resettled over 3,200 Okinawans to Bolivia with unfulfilled promises. (similarity 0.80)
• The 1972 reversion actually increased Okinawa’s share of US bases. (similarity 0.80)
• Japan accepted US rule of Okinawa to avoid bases on the mainland. (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• U.S. bases displaced about 250,000 Okinawans, nearly half the island’s population. #corroborates (1.00) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 200
• The US seized one-fifth of Okinawa’s arable land within a year. #expands (0.60) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 841
• Base land seizures destroyed Okinawa’s farming economy and livelihood. #expands (0.50)