About 1,200 people marched in opposition to the presence of U.S. military bases in Okinawa on Friday as the prefecture marked the 43rd anniversary of its reversion to Japanese sovereignty.

Many residents resent the fact that their small island prefecture hosts around 75 percent of the territory used by U.S. forces in Japan, calling it a disproportionate burden. They oppose a plan by Tokyo to move one contentious base only a short distance within the prefecture rather than pulling it from Okinawa altogether.

"Even after our reversion, the problems of the bases remain unchanged," Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga told a news conference, adding that the true democracy sought by residents has not been realized with the base's relocation being forced upon them against their wishes.