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6 Comments

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  YaraChobyo68 at 04:20 PM JST - 2nd September

  Well, it was puzzling that the "talk" of reversion came after Prime Sato's diplomatic success of November 1969... thus President Nixon had agreed to work towards reversion of Okinawa to Japan during 1972. Furthermore, perhaps we should look closer at President Eisenhower's Executive Order 10713. Moreover, how about letting the public read Hirohito's view of Okinawa...

  Hirohito’s feelings were summarized in two letters preserved at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Both letters reflected on the Emperor’s desire on the future of the Ryukyu Islands. He hoped that the U.S. government would continue the military occupation of Okinawa and other Ryukyu Islands. Thus, he strongly felt that such occupation would benefit the United States and also provide protection for Japan. Clearly General MacArthur and the U.S. played a vital role on protecting the emperor’s throne and the process of rebuilding Japan. Thus, General MacArthur publicly stated that: “The Ryukyus are our natural frontier;” there was no Japanese opposition to the United States retaining Okinawa, for “the Okinawans are not Japanese.” And moreover, American air bases on Okinawa were important for Japan’s own security. The Emperor also proposed that the United States military occupation of Okinawa be under a long term lease retained by Japan. Hirohito thought this method of occupation would convince the Japanese people that the United States would not permanently occupy the island of Okinawa. He believed that other nations, particularly the Soviet Union and China, would not demand similar rights. As soon as the State Department and the Pentagon had come together and firmed up American policy concerning Okinawa, Hirohito intervened with an unconstitutional political statement asserting Japanese sovereignty while endorsing the views of MacArthur (Bix,2000:626). As a result, Okinawa was not protected by the Japan’s Peace Constitution for twenty-five years (from 1945-1972, the year of Japan’s Peace Constitution to the year of Okinawa’s Reversion). Abruptly the people of Okinawa came to share the common understanding that the culture, history, and natural habitat of Okinawa was forever be changed by Hirohito’s decision.

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  OgieDoggie at 12:08 AM JST - 3rd September

  Bottom line...if you loose a war you started don't expect to get any great deals as time goes on!!!

  And since Japanese don't regard Okinawan's as being Japanese (only their nice island where we can build hotels and take our vacations) is Japanese.

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  usaexpat at 12:25 AM JST - 3rd September

  I would say whether Japan secretly paid money or not they should be happy they got Okinawa back after the war. It certainly didn't work out that way for Sakhalin, Korea, Manchuria or Taiwan. That's what happens when you lose a war, you lose your empire.

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  JohnBecker at 12:46 AM JST - 3rd September

  YaraChobyo, thanks for a very informative post.

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  mnemosyne23 at 05:12 AM JST - 3rd September

  Yes, thank you, YaraChobyo!

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  NeoJamal at 08:37 PM JST - 3rd September

  Yeah thanks YaraChobyo

  This waffling made by Hirohito, a constitutional monarch who made these rambling and un-educated remarks without the advice of his poltically accountable ministers has lead me to my discovery that occupation proponents have gone as far to rely on poorly contrived means to justify the continued US military presence and the past occupation of Okinawa.

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