Okinawa calls for help to reduce US presence

Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki has urged Japan’s central government to do more to reduce the US military presence in the archipelago as it marked the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan after 27 years of American rule. Mr Tamaki said yesterday that Okinawa had come a long way since the devastation of the Second World War and US rule, which ended when it reverted to Japan in 1972, but its demand for the mainland to share its security burden remains unresolved. “I call on the central government to share with the entire nation the significance of Okinawa’s reversion and the importance of permanent peace that Okinawans have long craved for,” the governor said.