14/May/2022
TOKYO/NAHA, Okinawa -- Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of Okinawa's return to Japan by the U.S.
Japan's southernmost prefecture, comprised of 160 islands, formed the backdrop of some of the fiercest battles fought in Japan during World War II. A quarter of the local population, some 120,000 people, died.
Five decades later, Okinawans still can't shake the specter of war. In the intervening, mostly peaceful, years, Okinawans have petitioned the government to cut the size of the American military footprint on the main island. Tokyo, under different prime ministers, had swayed toward that goal.
But now, the rise of China has once again turned Okinawa into the first line of defense. The islands are nothing short of irreplaceable in the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy.
On May 3, during Japan's Golden Week holiday, the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning began operations in the Pacific Ocean, 160 km south of Okinawa.