The Japanese island chain of Okinawa marked the 50th anniversary on Sunday of the end of U.S. occupation and its return to Japan with calls for more economic growth and fewer U.S. bases despite growing worries over its proximity to an increasingly assertive China.
Highlights
- The Japanese island chain of Okinawa marked the 50th anniversary on Sunday of the end of U.S.
- occupation and its return to Japan.
- The islands suffered massive devastation in World War Two and were finally returned to Japan in 1972.
- Today they still host the majority of Japanese military bases in Japan, a devil’s bargain that has provided jobs but also fed worries about crime and military accidents.
- As China grows increasingly assertive in the Pacific region and tensions rise around nearby Taiwan, Okinawans are concerned that they could once more end up on the front lines - especially after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Prime Minister Fumio Kishida acknowledged this as well as the economic inequalities that still make Okinawa one of Japan’s poorest areas.