Koza riot in Okinawa
Dec. 20, 1970
An Okinawan policeman sits on the curb and surveys damage done hours earlier during the Koza Riot in what is now Okinawa City, Okinawa. Japan Times
US military rule and occupation of Japan officially ended in 1952 when Japan regained its independence, but the occuption in Okinawa continued for another twenty years, until 1972 when Okinawa was returned to Japan. To varying extents the US military presence has continued to this day. Many Okinawans desire independence from Japan as well as holding deep resentment towards the US military use of their lands. Okinawa was annexed by Japan in 1879. A UN special report on racism in Japan found that Okinawans continue to face discrimination due to their opposition to the military bases. In 2008 the UN recommended that Japan "should expressly recognize the Ainu and Ryukyu/Okinawa as indigenous peoples in domestic legislation, adopt special measures to protect, preserve and promote their cultural heritage and traditional way of life, and recognize their land rights." Japan has not recognized Okinawan's as Indigenous.
On this night in 1970, a spontaneous protest against the US military presence in Okinawa began and continued into the morning of the following day in Koza, now part of the city of Okinawa. Roughly 5,000 Okinawans clashed with ~700 US military police officers in an event which has been regarded as symbolic of Okinawan anger against 25 years of US military administration. The immediate trigger was a US serviceman hitting an Okinawan man while drunk driving. In the riot, approximately 60 Americans and 27 Okinawans were injured, 80 cars were burned, US military police used tear gas, and several buildings on Kadena Air Base were destroyed or heavily damaged. The drunk driving incident also followed a hit-and-run crash in September 1970, a few months prior, which resulted in the death of an Okinawan housewife from Itoman. The servicemen involved in that incident were acquitted at their court-martial. Some of the rioters danced traditional folk dances as the riot continued around them.
On this night in 1970, a spontaneous protest against the US military presence in Okinawa began and continued into the morning of the following day in Koza, now part of the city of Okinawa. Roughly 5,000 Okinawans clashed with ~700 US military police officers in an event which has been regarded as symbolic of Okinawan anger against 25 years of US military administration. The immediate trigger was a US serviceman hitting an Okinawan man while drunk driving. In the riot, approximately 60 Americans and 27 Okinawans were injured, 80 cars were burned, US military police used tear gas, and several buildings on Kadena Air Base were destroyed or heavily damaged. The drunk driving incident also followed a hit-and-run crash in September 1970, a few months prior, which resulted in the death of an Okinawan housewife from Itoman. The servicemen involved in that incident were acquitted at their court-martial. Some of the rioters danced traditional folk dances as the riot continued around them.