Okinawa returns to Japanese sovereignty 27 years after end of World War II
May 15, 1972
Okinawa, under U.S. control since the end of World War II, is returned to Japanese sovereignty. Ceremonies are held in Tokyo and Naha to mark the hand-over.
Shoppers in Okinawa look over items offered for sale under a sign that announces the event as a "Sayonara to the dollar sale." Okinawans had to become accustomed to making transactions in Japanese currency after using greenbacks for so long.
A Self-Defense Forces aircraft bearing Hinomaru insignia lands at Naha Air Base in Okinawa prior to the return to Japanese sovereignty. For some residents who lived through the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, the presence of SDF members taking over the duties of the U.S. military conjured up bad memories of the Imperial Japanese Army.
A bar owner in Okinawa commemorates the return to Japanese sovereignty by naming his establishment after the date on which the hand-over was to take place. Visitors from the Japanese mainland crowded the bar where the conversation inevitably turned to what life would be like in Okinawa after it returned to Japanese sovereignty.
Emperor Hirohito, known posthumously as Emperor Showa, attends the ceremony in Tokyo marking the return along with hundreds of other participants. Representing the United States was Vice President Spiro Agnew.
Thousands of Okinawa residents gather in October 1995 to vent their outrage at the rape of a schoolgirl by three U.S. military personnel. It triggered a major protest against the presence of U.S. troops in Okinawa and led to an agreement between Japan and the United States to return some of the land on which U.S. bases were located. However, little progress has been made, leading to greater criticism of the Japanese government among Okinawa residents.
