Okinawa Prefecture on Tuesday marked the 35th anniversary of its reversion to Japan from postwar U.S. control, with tourism booming but woes related to U.S. military bases and a high jobless rate still prominent.

In a group interview Monday ahead of the anniversary, Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima said the situations regarding North Korea and China have kept Okinawa as a strategically important location for defense, despite its struggle to reduce the concentrated U.S. military presence there.

"Considering various situations in the world, such as the issue of North Korea and China's drastic economic and military expansion, there may be not much difference from the old times when Okinawa was called a keystone."