Diplomatic documents declassified Wednesday by the Foreign Ministry confirm that Japan and the United States had a secret pact under which Tokyo paid an additional $65 million to finance costs related to the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japanese sovereignty.
U.S. documents have shown that the two countries secretly agreed that Japan would pay the money to cover goods and services for the improvement and transfer of U.S. military facilities, in addition to $320 million in reversion costs to be shouldered by Japan under an official agreement struck in June 1971.
The newly revealed Japanese documents show that an official asked the United States not to disclose the amount of additional expenses for the reversion for fear of being accused of misleading the Diet.