On the territory of Okinawa, Japan, what is staged every day is that local residents march in front of US military camps to protest against the excessive US military bases being stationed on the island.
But the U.S. and Japan are obviously not surprised by this situation. They did not respond to the residents on Okinawa Island. Instead, more and more U.S. military bases are stationed here.
The Japanese government also came to join in the fun. They also transferred the US military bases originally stationed in other parts of the Japanese territory to Okinawa. According to incomplete statistics, more than 70% of the US military bases stationed in Japan are located in the narrow Okinawa Island.
Oneo Island residents obviously cannot accept this approach. They held gatherings and marchs every day. Since the 1970s, the US military has never stopped since the governance of Okinawa to Japan.
Local residents of Okinawa said they do not want to see Okinawa become a frontline of the war. They hope that the Japanese government can pay attention to the wishes of local residents. should not let Okinawa become a victim of the war like during World War II . They shouted the slogan of "US military base withdraws from Okinawa" every day, but the effect is minimal, so the residents on the island have more anger and despair.
In fact, the conflict between the locals in Okinawa and the US military was formed during World War II, and the Japanese who belonged to the same country had actually been in a long grudge against them.
Okinawa Island is located in the Ryukyu Islands. that ruled the Ryukyu Islands hundreds of years ago was called Ryukyu Kingdom. , like most South and Southeast Asian countries, the Ryukyu Kingdom used Chinese characters as the official language. In addition, Ryukyu also had its local indigenous language.
In the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He voyages to the West once passed by the Ryukyu Kingdom and also named the ruler of Ryukyu Island the King of Ryukyu. is surrounded by the sea on all sides and is a hub for maritime trade in Southeast Asian countries. Ryukyu Kingdom has an important strategic position.
At the beginning of the 17th century, a war broke out in southern Kyushu, Japan. Ryukyu was almost annexed by Japan due to its weak military strength, but it still had its own official language and autonomy. However, Japan's Meiji Restoration has greatly increased its strength, and they also need to conduct maritime trade through the Ryukyu, so the Ryukyu Kingdom was forced to incorporate into Japan's territory. At the same time, the Japanese changed it to Okinawa Prefecture .
In order to survive, residents on Ryukyu Island have to learn Japanese, but many residents will also learn Ryukyu and Chinese left by their ancestors, and some even regard Japanese as their second language.
Therefore, for the residents of Okinawa, they do not have a sense of belonging to the country of Japan, whether in terms of root or geographical location. And the distance between Okinawa and Japan is too far away. The Japanese not only regard Okinawa as a hub for their maritime trade, but also as the first barrier when the war comes.
Because landing from Okinawa is a good choice, it takes a while to go from Okinawa to Japan. In this period, the Japanese government seems to have many things to do, such as building fortifications, setting ambush traps, etc.
Okinawa's residents also understand their destiny, Therefore, the residents of Okinawa have always regarded themselves as Japanese, and most of them still call themselves Ryukyu people , so their wish to be independent from Japan has never been shattered.
On December 7, 1941, the naval fleet of the Japanese Empire sneaked into the US territorial waters, and sneaked into the US naval base Pearl Harbor . More than 350 Japanese aircraft dropped armor-piercing bombs at the US naval base and fired torpedo at US warships and cruisers .
The US Navy at that time was unprepared and caught off guard by the Japanese army. He could only hurry to defend himself in a panic, but before they could organize an effective counterattack, the Japanese army's sneak attack had already ended.
In just one and a half hours, the United States lost four battleships and two destroyers , and at the same time, 188 aircraft were blown up by the Japanese army, causing heavy losses.
Japan officially declared war on the United States after two rounds of attacks. The next day, US President Roosevelt delivered a famous "national humiliation" speech, officially declaring war on the Japanese Empire, and the Pacific War broke out.
The Japanese army decided to concentrate on using military forces from both sea and air to destroy US Pacific Fleet . The main corps in the waters near Okinawa Island were also arranged to build fortifications on Okinawa Island, thereby gaining preparation time for the defense of Japan's territory.
After the US military strongly occupying Philippines, Okinawa's position in local defense has become more important.
Oneijing Island will be lost, then the sea control rights and air control rights in Japan, as well as the Korean Peninsula and China's coastal areas, will be completely lost. At this time, Japan's maritime transportation to Southeast Asia will be completely cut off by the US military, and Japan will become a lamb to be slaughtered, and it will be even more powerless in the face of the US military's attack.
Due to the special geographical location of Okinawa, if the US military wants to successfully land on Japan's territory, it will definitely land on Okinawa first. Therefore, in 1944, after the fall of Mariana Islands, Japan began to concentrate its efforts to defend Okinawa. They knew that a fierce battle would definitely take place here.
Finally, the two U.S. and Japanese armies fought a 82-day battle on Okinawa. From early April 1945, the US military began to implement naval gun and aviation fire preparations on Okinawa, and completely eliminated Japanese maritime and air forces in mid-June.
The Okinawa battle codenamed Iceberg Operation is the largest amphibious landing operation in the Pacific battlefield and the bloodiest battle on the Pacific battlefield. In this battle, more than 100,000 Japanese soldiers were killed or captured, and the battle between the two sides also killed tens of thousands of Okinawa residents.
The Japanese army lost 100,000 soldiers in the Battle of Okinawa Island, and although the United States won the battle against the epidemic, it also sacrificed more than 20,000 soldiers and huge losses of ordnance equipment.
When the two countries are at war, the most innocent people are the local residents of Okinawa.
For American soldiers, Okinawa Island is considered the territory of the Japanese, so the residents on the island are naturally "Japanese", so killing local residents does not have any psychological pressure for them.
But the Japanese did not take the lives of the local residents in Okinawa. In their opinion, this was a group of restless people who thought about restoring the country every day, and they used them all as cannon fodder to charge. If there was a task like the suicide squad, they would hand it over to the residents of Okinawa without hesitation. The
task was successfully completed, and they would not give a good face, but if the task failed, then waiting for the residents of Okinawa may be an unreasonable massacre.
What’s even more disgusting is that after the failure of the Battle of Okinawa, Japanese soldiers actually forced local Okinawa residents to sacrifice their lives for their country and show their ambitions for death.
They spread the unimaginable consequences of being captured by the US military on the island. Although it is indeed not free and glorious to be a prisoner, even the Japanese with the spirit of Bushido chose to retreat first after failure, not suicide.
After the battle of Okinawa, official data from Japan showed that 100,000 Okinawans died in this battle.
However, according to the civil statistics of Okinawa, in the war in Okinawa, the local residents dropped sharply from more than 400,000 to about 200,000.
In other words, after this battle, the innocent Okinawa residents were much higher than the casualties of soldiers of the two armies.
Therefore, Okinawans have always been very repulsive and hated the Japanese. Nowadays, there is a sculpture of Japanese soldiers forcing local Okinawa residents to commit suicide in the museum in Okinawa Prefecture. The sculpture also has the words engraved on it:
Japanese soldiers massacred Okinawa civilians, forced them to kill each other, and then committed suicide
It has been more than half a century since the battle of Okinawa. There are still many people here every day, and there are endless streams. It can be seen that the residents of Okinawa really hate the Japanese.
Later in the Second World War , Italy had long been rebelling, and Germany, as the big brother, also failed repeatedly on the European battlefield and finally had no choice but to surrender.
Only Japan is still struggling to support it, but after the World War in Okinawa, Japan's navy and air force were almost wiped out. Moreover, the US military dropped the atomic bomb in Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki areas. Japan, which was weak in succession, had to choose to surrender.
As a defeated country, Japan finally handed over the rule of Okinawa to the US military. Although cedescending Okinawa is not a big deal for Japan, it is not the case for the residents of Okinawa.
Since the US military logged into Okinawa Island, rape incidents have continued to occur on the island. According to statistics from relevant media, from 1945 to 1946, a year after the US military landed on Okinawa, the woman on Okinawa gave birth to 450 mixed-race babies.
For soldiers in war, they usually cause more killings on the battlefield, which can easily affect their nature. The occurrence of rape will release the remaining dark factors in their hearts.
Until the US soldiers landed on the Korean Peninsula, more and more American soldiers landed on Okinawa, and their infringement on the women on the island became more and more serious.
In the first year of the Korean War, there were more than 200 rapes by American soldiers on Okinawa. When they were so beastly, they had no scruples at all. They even attacked the little girl who was only six years old and brutally killed the victim.
Residents of Okinawa once hoped that the Japanese government would stand up and uphold justice for them. But just as the local residents of Okinawa do not regard themselves as Japanese, the Japanese government does not regard them as their own people.
They did not help Okinawa residents to be fair, but instead blamed the women on the island for being too exposed, which would seduce the US military to abuse them.
Residents of Okinawa find that the Japanese government cannot rely on at all. If they want to change the current situation, they can only do it themselves. So Okinawa residents who were marching and demonstrating gathered on Okinawa Island. They shouted loud slogans and announced their anger to the world:
Okinawa must be independent, and the US military must get out!
The territory of Okinawa Island is about 1,200 square kilometers, and the permanent population on the island is about 1.2 million. In 2018, there was a riot on Okinawa Island. Almost all Okinawa residents took to the streets to vent their anger and show their determination to drive away the American soldiers.
But the US military is indifferent to such demonstrations, because they know that the shouts of these Okinawa residents cannot hurt them at all.
Nowadays, on this narrow island with only more than 1,200 square kilometers, there are nearly 30 US military bases stationed here.
The reason why the US military chose to station its troops on Okinawa is, on the one hand, it is targeting Japan, but in fact, what is more important is targeting China. Look at the location of Okinawa Island on the map, it is almost in the center of Taiwan and Japan.
The Taiwan issue has always been a headache for previous leaders of our country, and behind this is the interference of US imperialism.
If the United States stations its troops on Okinawa Island, it can occupy the military preemptive opportunity on the Taiwan issue. If Taiwan can be occupied, then China's strong naval strength will be useless, and China will become a powerful trapped beast. This is the first island chain strategy proposed by the United States once, and stationing the army on Okinawa is a key link.
So no matter what happens, the US military will not easily withdraw its troops from Okinawa. The US military does not take the expulsion remarks of the local residents. If they anger them, the Okinawa residents will face even more terrible revenge.
And for the Japanese, Okinawa is far away, and they are not convenient to control, nor are they willing to control it. The value of Okinawa is not worthy of conflict between the Japanese and the United States, and the Japanese government can clearly calculate it.
Until June 1971, the United States and Japan signed the "Okinawa Return Agreement" , and the United States officially returned the ruling power of Okinawa to Japan.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the world was trapped in the Cold War confrontation between the two superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union. The US military was at a disadvantage in the confrontation with the Soviet Union. The restraint in many places made the United States increasingly unable to play the role of the world police.
At the same time, they also have to take into account the Vietnam battlefield. The US military base stationed on Okinawa Island has caused the local residents to have a very high anti-US sentiment, and mutinies and riots are likely to occur. The US military does not want such restless factors to exist next to its military base, so it chose to hand over the governance power to Japan, of course, the premise is that their military base will not be withdrawn.
Secondly, because the war on Vietnam was extremely expensive at that time, the United States' military expenses were seriously insufficient, and controlling Okinawa also required a lot of funds. For the US military at this time, it was a bit unsatisfied. and spending huge amounts of funds to control Okinawa was also a not-so-cost deal.
Finally, the relationship between the United States and Japan is no longer as tense as it was during World War II. The two sides have now formed an alliance. Not only on Okinawa, but also on Japan, there are many US military bases stationed. At this time, the governance rights of Okinawa Island can be returned to Japan. This will not only sell the Japanese government as a favor, but also promote the alliance cooperation between the two sides, killing two birds with one stone.
The residents of Okinawa at that time were actually a little grateful to the Japanese. They believed that the years when American soldiers enslaved and ravaged themselves finally became the past. These American soldiers who only knew how to bully the weak were finally expelled.
However, it turns out that all this is just a dream for the residents of Okinawa, and the reality is still cruel to them.
Although the Japanese government took back its ruling power in Okinawa, it did not allow U.S. military bases to be withdrawn from the island, and even moved all of the U.S. military bases originally stationed in Japan to Okinawa.
For the Japanese government, it would be great if it was just withdrawn from its local US military base. If the base was taken to Okinawa, the local government would not lose anything and could also sell it to the US government for face. Therefore, the US military bases originally stationed in Okinawa changed from more than a dozen to about thirty, and is a bolt from the blue for Okinawans!
Of course, the Japanese will still think of some ways to to appease the emotions of the residents of Okinawa Island, so they came up with a solution, that is, to increase the land use cost of US military bases.
"Money can make the devil push the mill" is applicable at any time. The Japanese trick did reduce the anti-American sentiment of Okinawa residents at that time, because the income of military land was far higher than the land used for planting in Okinawa, and all the land use costs were left to the locals to solve by themselves, that is, let local residents increase their income and use money to calm their emotions.
During that period, the overall economic level of Okinawa Island rose significantly to a higher level.
But the good times did not last long because the Japanese regained their governance rights to Okinawa Island, so Japan Self-Defense Force began to land on the island for garrison. These Japanese soldiers' inhumane treatment of local residents during the battle of Okinawa Island once again aroused the inner pain of the residents of Okinawa Island, and at this time they began to develop anti-Japanese and independent emotions.
1975, Japan Akihito Prince boarded Okinawa Island. His purpose was to mourn the Okinawan woman who died unfortunately in World War II. However, while Ji Baihe Tower was mourning, Akihito and his wife were thrown by local residents. Although they did not hurt them, they scared them very much.
Most of the Okinawan female students who died in World War II were killed by Japanese soldiers. Now the prince, the spokesperson of the Japanese government, came here to mourn. How could he not arouse the anger of the local residents?
On an afternoon in 1995, a 12-year-old elementary school student was hijacked by three American soldiers while shopping in an Okinawa mall. The three American soldiers took the child to a nearby beach and committed violence under the noses of everyone.
This incident immediately caused an uproar on Okinawa Island, and people's anti-American sentiment could no longer be suppressed. The slogan of "Okinawa must be independent, the US military will get out." is being staged every day.
This time, under pressure from public opinion, local Japanese residents also began to support the people of Okinawa, and some Japanese government officials also joined the support team. In the end, under pressure from Japan, the US military had to make concessions and began to rectify the US military base stationed on Okinawa.
In the second year, the United States and Japan reached an "Okinawa U.S. Army Reorganization Agreement" , moving the most disturbing U.S. military base to Nago City, Okinawa Island. However, Okinawa residents are obviously dissatisfied with the results of this treatment, because as long as the US military base is still in Okinawa for one day, the residents on the island are still in danger and panic.
As expected, this is true. After the signing of the reorganization agreement of , rapes by American soldiers still occurred from time to time, but after the last pressure on the United States, the Japanese government was probably worried that it would anger the United States and was unwilling to stand up to protect the interests of the Okinawa people.
Since World War II, the relationship between the United States and Japan has gradually eased. In the eyes of American imperialism, China has always been regarded as an imaginary enemy, and the Japanese are their loyal younger brothers who can support them on the issue of China.
In the 1950s, the two countries signed " San Francisco Peace Treaty " . Since then, the United States has begun to unscrupulously establish military bases on Okinawa and Japan. The Japanese authorities cannot resist, or they do not have the courage to resist.
But now the residents of Okinawa Island have to take up weapons and fight against the US troops stationed in the local area. If Japan still acts deaf and dumb as before, then the slogan of "Okinawa must be independent, the US military will get out" will become a reality one day.
