Was the 1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement a Legacy of Protests?
Keywords:
1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement, Protesters, United States military basesAbstract
This paper reassesses the impact of protests on the 1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement, spanning the period from 1952 to 1972. Through a comprehensive review of existing literature, three previously unexplored dynamics emerge: a) certain protests exhibited correlation, yielding cumulative synergistic effects over time; b) decision-makers responded by quelling protesters; c) internal conflicts among Okinawans diminished the efficacy of protests. Some protests proved counterproductive, hindering the restoration of Japanese sovereignty over Okinawa and complicating the assessment of their overall contribution to reversion. The 1971 agreement, ostensibly signaling Okinawa’s return to Japanese control, retained provisions enabling continued American military presence, adding complexity to the evaluation of protest impact. This ambiguity may explain the concurrence between Washington and Tokyo on the Okinawan reversion. Notably, geopolitical instability in East Asia during the early 1970s, coupled with financial challenges faced by the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (USCAR) in maintaining Okinawa bases, contributed to the conducive climate for reversion. Concurrently, Tokyo’s assistance, driven by domestic electoral considerations, further facilitated the Okinawan reversion process.
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