Regarding Manuel Sandoval's Oct. 25 letter, Don't judge marines too fast": Sandoval says if we don't like Americans protecting Japan, then the American military can just leave and Japan can fend for itself. Could he? Could he ask the U.S. State Department and the Defense Department to remove their bases from Japan? I am sure Sandoval, as a member of the U.S. Army, would have more weight and influence in achieving that goal than the people of Okinawa have had over the last 62 years.
The Ryukyu Kingdom was annexed to the Japanese empire in 1871. These peaceful islanders suffered terribly during the Asia-Pacific War. And, since 1945, they have lived under the yoke of American colonialism even though the islands were "returned" to Japan in 1972. Due to a combination of the Cold War, the Korean War and the archipelago's strategic proximity to Taiwan and Communist China, Okinawa became a U.S. protectorate after Japan's surrender. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, 57,000 landowners were expropriated to make way for American military facilities.
Currently, 75 percent of all U.S. military bases are in Okinawa and they occupy 20 percent of prime farmland. In peaceful and democratic fashion, Okinawans have tried to get American bases off their island to no avail. Article 3 of the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty allows the U.S. to maintain its bases in Okinawa for as long as they desire. With more than 700 bases in about 130 countries in the world, I doubt the U.S. military will close any, especially in Japan.