Page 28 - Ginowan News Today

The U.S. controlled the island for nearly three decades after WWII, and residents still feel deeply divided about problems stemming from that occupation.

The U.S. controlled the island for nearly three decades after WWII, and residents still feel deeply divided about problems stemming from that occupation.

China's most powerful bombers circled U.S. military bases in Okinawa, Japan, according to Chinese state-run media Thursday.

Tamaki said Okinawa has come a long way since the devastation of World War II and nearly three decades of U.S. rule, which ended when it reverted to Japan on May 15, 1972.

Japan celebrated on Sunday the 50th anniversary of the end of US rule in the southern island of Okinawa, with the majority of the islands'1.4 million people showing discontent with the still-heavy presence of United States troops.

Members of groups who oppose U.S. bases in Okinawa Prefecture rallied in Tokyo’s Ginza district on May 15, the 50th anniversary of the reversion of Okinawa to Japanese administration.

Fifty years after the US ceded rule back to Tokyo, many Okinawans are calling for a renewed independence movement and to reduce the presence of US military bases.

GINOWAN, Okinawa Prefecture--Kiyoko Tokashiki recalls braving the pouring rain in a park in 1972 to protest the reversion of Okinawa to Japan while U.S. military bases remained concentrated in the prefecture.

Author Ryotaro Shiba (1923-1996) visited Okinawa Prefecture for his serial travelogue “Kaido wo Yuku” (On the highways) in April 1974.

GINOWAN, Okinawa Prefecture--Governor Denny Tamaki has submitted a formal plan to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida aiming to boost the incomes of islanders and scrap a controversial U.S. base relocation project.