Just now, I was reading a post by Danny Haiphong on X (formerly Twitter). The post featured a map of US military installations that surround China. It showed only two US air bases on Okinawa (the largest of the Ryukyu Islands). Here is the map:
As you can see, it shows only two Air Bases in Okinawa, Kandena and Naha. The fact is, it's much worse than that. While Okinawa only comprises about .6% of the total land mass of Japan, it houses about 70% of all US military bases in Japan. Okinawa houses more than 35,000 US military personnel and more than 2 dozen military installations. Here is a more detailed map of the Ryukyu Islands and surrounding territories:
As you can see, there are far more military operations going on in the Ryukyu Islands than the general populace is led to believe. If you think we're not gearing up for a war with China, you should probably take a look at this map and re-think your opinion. These are 2016 numbers, as recorded by the Okinawa Prefectural Government.
The people of Okinawa are not given the choice of whether to host this US military presence, and regularly protest it. 85% of Okinawans are against being occupied by the same military force which decimated their population and seized their land. 200.000 Okinawans lost their lives in the battle of Okinawa between April 1 until June 22 1945. To my personal knowledge they have been protesting housing military weapons of war since the late 60s. The people are extremely polite to individual Americans and represent the nature of their society very well. But...they despise the military presence, and have been literally forced to host them by the Japanese government. Although the islands were officially returned to Japan in 1972, the military presence has only continued to grow. Even when I was there in grammar school, the bases I personally remember being in Okinawa were Naha AFB (where I attended 4th and 5th grades), Kadena AFB, Fort Buckner Army Post and Camp Kue Marine base, as well as a Yaka Beach recreation area for military members and their dependents. Even then, it seemed to me that Americans took up a great deal of space in Okinawa. I had hoped that when it was returned to Japan, the people would be able to reclaim land that was originally theirs. Knowing what I know now, it was a very foolish hope.
In case you are interested, here is a site made expressly for Americans who once lived in Okinawa. It features a lot of the Okinawan history and many photos taken first hand. It is a beautiful place. Too bad the US couldn't care less.
The Constant Skeptic
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