Editing Okinawa Prefecture (section)

==== Vietnam War ====
[[File:Map of US Military Bases in Okinawa in 1969.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Map of U.S. military bases on [[Okinawa Island]] in 1969]]

Between 1965 and 1972, Okinawa was a key staging point for United States in its military operations directed towards North Vietnam. Along with Guam, it presented a geographically strategic launch pad for covert bombing missions over Cambodia and Laos.<ref>John Morrocco. Rain of Fire. (United States: Boston Publishing Company), pg 14</ref> Anti-[[Vietnam War]] sentiment became linked politically to the movement for reversion of Okinawa to Japan. In 1965, the U.S. military bases, earlier viewed as paternal post war protection, were increasingly seen as aggressive. The Vietnam War highlighted the differences between United States and Okinawa but showed a commonality between the islands and mainland Japan.<ref name="NYT65">{{cite news|first=Robert|last=Trumbull|newspaper=The New York Times|title=OKINAWA B-52'S ANGER JAPANESE: Bombing of Vietnam From Island Stirs Public Outcry.|date=August 1, 1965|url=http://0-www.proquest.com.mercury.concordia.ca/|access-date=September 27, 2009|archive-date=December 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209143838/http://0-www.proquest.com.mercury.concordia.ca/|url-status=live}}</ref>

As controversy grew regarding the alleged placement of nuclear weapons on Okinawa, fears intensified over the escalation of the Vietnam War. Okinawa was perceived by some inside Japan as a potential target for China, should the communist government feel threatened by United States.<ref>Mori, Kyozo, Two Ends of a Telescope Japanese and American Views of Okinawa, Japan Quarterly, 15:1 (1968:Jan./Mar.) p.17</ref> American military secrecy blocked any local reporting on what was actually occurring at bases such as Kadena Air Base. As information leaked out, and images of air strikes were published, the local population began to fear the potential for retaliation.<ref name="NYT65" />

Political leaders such as [[Makoto Oda]], a major figure in the [[Beheiren]] movement (Foundation of Citizens for Peace in Vietnam), believed that the return of Okinawa to Japan would lead to the removal of U.S. forces, ending Japan's involvement in Vietnam.<ref name="Havens, T. R. H. 1987 Pg 120">Havens, T. R. H. (1987) Fire Across the Sea: The Vietnam War and Japan, 1965–1975. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Pg 120</ref> In a speech delivered in 1967, Oda was critical of Prime Minister [[Eisaku Satō]]'s unilateral support of America's war in Vietnam, claiming "Realistically we are all guilty of complicity in the Vietnam War".<ref name="Havens, T. R. H. 1987 Pg 120" /> The Beheiren became a more visible anti-war movement on Okinawa as the American involvement in Vietnam intensified. The movement employed tactics ranging from demonstrations to handing leaflets to soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines directly, warning of the implications for a third World War.<ref>Havens, T. R. H. (1987) Fire Across the Sea: The Vietnam War and Japan, 1965–1975. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Pg 123</ref>

The U.S. military bases on Okinawa became a focal point for [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|anti-Vietnam War]] sentiment. By 1969, over 50,000 American military personnel were stationed on Okinawa.<ref>Christopher T. Sanders (2000) America's Overseas Garrisons the Leasehold Empire Oxford University Press PG 164</ref> [[United States Department of Defense]] began referring to Okinawa as the "Keystone of the Pacific". This slogan was imprinted on local U.S. military license plates.<ref>Havens, T. R. H. (1987) Fire Across the Sea: The Vietnam War and Japan, 1965–1975. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press Pg 88</ref>

In 1969, chemicals leaked from the U.S. storage depot at Chibana in central Okinawa, under [[Operation Red Hat]]. Evacuations of residents took place over a wide area for two months. Even two years later, government investigators found that Okinawans and the environment near the leak were still suffering because of the depot.<ref name="APJ2014">{{cite journal|first=Steve|last=Rabson|url=http://www.japanfocus.org/-Steve-Rabson/3884|title=Okinawa's Henoko was a 'Storage Location' for Nuclear Weapons: Published Accounts|journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus|volume=11|issue=1(6)|access-date=January 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130213003429/http://japanfocus.org//-Steve-Rabson/3884|archive-date=February 13, 2013}}</ref>

On May 15, 1972, the U.S. government returned the islands to Japan following the signing of the [[1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ChGQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA449 |title=Reversion to Japan of the Ryukyu and Daito Islands, official text |access-date=August 5, 2014 |year=1973 |last1=States |first1=United |archive-date=January 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101093357/https://books.google.com/books?id=ChGQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA449 |url-status=live }}</ref>