And those privileges depend on the continued cooperation of people you’d like to invite to your next blanket party.
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Disagree about lack of arable land contributing greatly to an economic downturn–that island functions greatly on tourism, and for a place 60+ miles long by 3 (+/- 2 miles) miles wide, I can’t see agriculture being their economic savior. Also, bases full of American soldiers, marines, sailors, and airmen tend to put dollars into the local economy.
If anything, Gate 2 street in Okinawa will now be bereft of the drunken sailor, and will have to get by on the drunken soldier, airman, or marine.
No, it wasn’t, just like Hawaii isn’t “America’s breadbasket”. Okinawa is a smallish tropical island and was a distant colony, only subsumed into the Japanese empire about 80 years before the war started (just like Hawaii!).
Japan’s “breadbasket” (rice field?) is Gifu, Chiba, and the great kanto plains. It’s why Tokugawa moved his base of operations there in 1600.
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and the sober sailor. They can’t leave the base.
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Ban 'em from drinking and keep 'em on-base
Ban 'em from drinking and keep 'em on-base
Ban 'em from drinking and keep 'em on-base
Er-lye in the morning!
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And of actual recognized history of the island.
"Four years after the 1868 Meiji Restoration, the Japanese government, through military incursions, officially annexed the kingdom and renamed it Ryukyu han. At the time, the Qing Empire asserted a nominal suzerainty over the islands of the Ryukyu Kingdom, since the Ryūkyū Kingdom was also a member state of the Chinese tributary system. Ryukyu han became Okinawa Prefecture of Japan in 1879"
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Ah, but all their units fight at full strength even when damaged. I’m going with the assessment, “scrappy.”
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The big annoyance over the bases is the effect on tourism, not agriculture. Most of Japan has a temperate climate mostly on the same lines of latitude as the Pacific Northwest/Northeast US. Okinawa is the closest thing to tropical within the country. The restricted ability to capitalize on the beachfront is irritating to locals.
Meh. Until JR can get a big-window bullet train to Okinawa, and until NHK can run some specials about the local noodles, Okinawan tourism will be lagging.
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I am sure there has been a lot of tension between the two for some time. But I don’t think it rises to that level of animosity.
I have noticed that shows featuring “celebrities eating interesting food” appear to take up at least 40% of NHK’s programming in any given day. 
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It is forced to actually because all the farm land has been taken over by military bases. It was not that way until recently. Also, the bases only effect the economy for towns near bases and those effects have been pretty bad. This isn’t even in question really. The history of Okinawa isn’t exactly a mystery. It just takes a bit of time to educate yourself.
That, and they’ve completed the Honor policy tree. (As well as those of Tradition, Commerce, Exploration, and Porn.)
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The Tentacles policy opens up… way too many options.
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How recently?
While I may not have the firmest grip on Okinawa’s history, I was stationed there for two years in the mid-90s. I am not a stranger to that land.
This recently changed, as Japan continues to move towards a more traditional military force. For now they are only allowing for limited overseas involvement, and only in “self-defense” or in defense of certain allies.
As I understand the total is 150k not 250k
Well, I just looked the number on wikipedia, which is usually right for this kind of things.
That said, 150000 is by no means a small army force.
But it makes China and Russia and Canada want to do the same…
Canada? We can hardly keep our ships afloat in the water and planes in the air… but I could see Tim Hortons trying to set up shop everywhere…
We’ll just send our Canadian Geese - they inspire more terror then our military.
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Post WWII.
Great! It’s too bad you weren’t able to learn about how dramatically we changed that little island.
