“U.S. Military Base Issues in Okinawa” refers to the issues and problems

caused by the presence of U.S. Military bases in Okinawa. People living in

Okinawa have been tormented by accidents and incidents caused by the U.S.

Army. The U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement has prevented inhabitants

as well as national and local governments from taking effective action to solve

the problems caused by the U.S. Army. This article reports how the regional

newspaper“ Ryukyu Shimpo” has grappled with such issues and problems.

　　Right before the outbreak of the Pacific War, the then-Japanese government

forced “Ryukyu Shimpo” to be integrated with other papers into “Okinawa

Shimpo” as the single regional newspaper published in Okinawa. After

the integration, the newspaper cooperated with the government to fight the

war and played the part to raise the fighting sprits of inhabitants. The lesson

that people working for the newspaper learned from the experience during the

war was that “we must not write to help the government wage a war again.”

With this principle in mind, the journalists working for“ Ryukyu Shimpo” tackle

the issues concerning the presence of the U.S. Military bases. On the other

hand, the national government of Japan apparently learned how to successfully

control public opinion from its experience during the war period.

　　The suffering caused by the stationing of the U.S. Army began at the

moment when the Japanese government abandoned Okinawa and provided the

United States with the most southern prefecture in Japan as a military base in

exchange for the restoration of the sovereignty of mainland Japan. The message

issued by the Japanese emperor regarding the Okinawa War confirmed

that Okinawa was sacrificed for the restoration of Japan’s sovereignty. Even

after the U.S. government handed over Okinawa to the administration of Japan,the Japanese government requested that the U.S. government maintain their

military bases and that the U.S. keep them in Okinawa. This is why people in

Okinawa have been tormented by the problems that the U.S. Army causes.

　　“Ryukyu Shimpo” has repeatedly reported the issues and problems concerning

the U.S. bases. It constantly reports the unfairness and unjustness of

the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement and campaigns for its revision. The

national news media, however, are not so eager to report the issues in Okinawa

caused by the U.S. Military bases.

　　The current Abe Cabinet put the Act on the Protection of Specially Designated

Secrets into force, which is argued to have the consequences of shrinking

the activities of journalists. In Okinawa, journalists were exposed to pressure

from the national government. A notable incident occurred in which journalists

were detained at the site of their coverage of the Okinawa U.S. bases. While the

spirit of the Japanese Constitution that stipulates the renouncement of war is

faltering, the raison d’être of journalists are called into question.