The United States Military Base in Okinawa: Origins, Local Narratives, and Historical Memory

This article investigates the history of the United States military base in Okinawa and its long-term impact on local communities, with particular attention to the ways in which Okinawans have constructed narratives around the base. By situating present-day tensions in the Taiwan Strait within a longer historical trajectory, the study highlights continuities that link the post-war American occupation with Okinawa’s reversion to Japan in 1972 and the subsequent decades. Drawing on first-hand historical sources and extensive interviews with residents, it examines how the American presence reshaped everyday life and social values. The case of Henoko illustrates how communities developed strategies to coexist with the base while sustaining local identity, influenced both by the district’s rural and Communist heritage and by the base’s emergence as the region’s dominant economic actor after 1945. The analysis shows how these historical and social dynamics altered livelihoods, value systems, and perceptions of security. By treating Okinawa as a case study, the article contributes to wider debates on the entanglement of foreign military power, local society, and historical memory, and offers comparative insights for other communities negotiating the presence of overseas bases.