Paradise Lost: American Military Pollution on Okinawa, 1945 to Today

Here is my video story on environmental inequality in Okinawa.

 

Introduction

On the afternoon of August 13, 2004, a CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter, operated by the US Marine Corps, took off from Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, located in the heart of Ginowan City, Okinawa. The skies were sunny and warm, and on board were three US Marines on a 7-month deployment to the island.^[1] Shortly after takeoff, however, the pilots reported mechanical issues, and asked Futenma to create a landing spot for them. They aimed for the middle of the runway, but never made it. Instead, they crashed into Okinawa International University’s administration building, erupting into a fireball. Although no one was injured or killed, including the Marines, dozens of pieces of debris were scattered across, some parts over 1,200 ft away.^[2]

This crash was not the first incident on Okinawa to occur because of American military activity. Once an independent kingdom that was annexed by Japan in 1872, Okinawa maintains a unique cultural identity distinct from the Japanese archipelago.^[3] In April 1945, American troops landed on Okinawa, starting a 3-month long battle that killed 150,000 civilians.^[4] Following the Battle of Okinawa and the defeat of Japan in World War Two, the United States fully occupied the islands, rapidly turning the island into a strategic center for American operations in East Asia ever since. Although the islands were returned to Japanese administration in 1972, the bases have continued to remain. Currently, the United States operates 32 military bases across Okinawa, home to 1.2 million people, possessing over 25,000 servicemembers and 15% of Okinawa’s land.^[5]

This massive concentration of these American bases and troops on the island have created a deep and long-standing tension between the Americans and the local Okinawa community. The devastating Battle of Okinawa, and Okinawa’s own tension with Tokyo, has greatly affected Okinawan opinion on the matter. While the Government of Japan supports the American military presence as a deterrent against neighboring powers, many Okinawans resent the presence, as numerous aircraft accidents and crimes by American servicemen have occurred for decades. One of the greatest concerns, however, is the environmental impact of the American military on Okinawa. This has manifested in many ways, including daily noise pollution, fuel and sewage leaks, water contamination, and high levels of forever chemicals concentration in local soil.^[6] Furthermore, many of these incidents occurred in densely populated urban neighborhoods, further magnifying their impact. These issues have persisted for decades, with little action being taken by the US military, despite protest after protest by locals, and as such have come to resent the American presence.

This continued trend of environmental damage by the American military presence on Okinawa demonstrates the disregard of the US military towards the land and people of Okinawa, a disregard that continues to be perpetuated. As a result, the credibility and support for the American military presence has deteriorated year by year, all while the United States is putting more emphasis on Okinawa as China rises to become a great rival. Therefore, the United States must undertake major reforms at American bases, in order to clean up its environmental record, or risk seeing its relationship with Okinawans and Japan, as well as its perception of a legitimate presence in East Asia, greatly deteriorate. Such deterioration as a result of environmental negligence would not only affect their relationship and legitimacy on Okinawa, but with numerous American bases across the globe and the many allied governments that host them.

This paper will focus on how and why such legitimacy and relationship is being undermined by the environmental record of the American military. The first part of the paper shall describe the broader historical context of Okinawa, the second part of the paper will focus on the environment controversies that have emerged around the American bases. The third part of the paper will focus on the shifting dynamics at the end of the Cold War and the backlash by local Okinawans in response to the environmental damages of their island. The fourth part of this paper will focus on the changes in policy that the US military has undertaken in response, as well as discussing modern discontent among Okinawans. The fifth part will include a series of recommendations that, if the US military wishes to mend its relationship with the Okinawan community, should undertake. Thus, the paper shall conclude with the fallout of the previously mentioned crash, a brief resummary of the paper, and the greater significance that if the US military fails to improve its environmental record, they risk their relationship not just with Okinawans and Japan but local communities and allied governments across the world.

Okinawa: A Brief History

Okinawa Prefecture lies on the southernmost portion of Japan, along a chain of islands stretching from Taiwan to Kyushu in southern Japan. The prefecture consists of several islands, but the main island, also named Okinawa, is by far the largest and most populated, at nearly 1.4 million people on just 462 square miles of land.^[7] Historically, Okinawa has been populated by the Ryukyuan people, an ethnic group closely related to Yamato Japanese, but whose culture saw a mixture of Chinese and Japanese elements.^[8] During the 15th century, the Kingdom of Ryukyu emerged as a wealthy Confucian merchant kingdom, but in 1609 became a vassal state of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan. In 1872, the Japanese Empire formally annexed Okinawa into Japan, and began a campaign of cultural assimilation into Japanese culture, including the abolishment of the Ryukyun language, determined to bring Okinawa as an integral part of the Empire of Japan.^[9]

As Japan continued its campaign of imperial expansion across East Asia and the Pacific, it ended up provoking war to seize the colonies of the Western empires in the Asia-Pacific, including the United States. However, the United States was a much more powerful nation than Japan, and Japan began losing island by island to the United States. In April 1945, the first American troops landed on Okinawa, starting the three-month long Battle of Okinawa, a battle which would have a profound effect on the psyche of the Okinawan people. About 150,000 civilians, or 25% of the population, were killed, many by the Japanese soldiers sent to protect them, who would seize civilian food, coerce civilians into mass suicide, and conscripted Okinawans into forced labor.^[10] The Battle of Okinawa also saw the American military presence, which has continued to this day, first established itself. The primary runways later to be used by the American military, Kadena, was captured shortly after the first American landings, while the other runway, Futenma, was constructed during the battle.^[11] These bases would become integral to the American air campaign over Japan until the end of the war a few months later.

Under the conditions of surrender, Japan would become occupied under the US military until 1952, including Okinawa.^[12] However, Okinawa would continue to remain under American control, until negotiations with Japan returned the islands in 1972.^[13] Okinawa’s strategic location, in relative close proximity to the East Asian states, made the islands of great interest and use for the American government. With the Cold War and communism spreading to East Asia, the United States continuously expanded, modernized and opened new bases across Okinawa. Nuclear warheads, as well as the strategic bombers to drop them to China and Soviet Siberia, were deployed to Okinawa, all the while Okinawa became a vital staging and logistics hub for American campaigns in Korea, Vietnam, and the Taiwan Strait. Okinawa was particularly vital as a launching pad for B-52s to drop thousands of tons of bombs over Vietnam during the Vietnam War.^[14]

Despite the reluctance of some American diplomats, Okinawa would return to Japanese administration in 1972.^[15] Despite defeat and occupation by America, Japan had emerged as a key ally of the United States in East Asia, as Japan also feared it was the target of Sino-Soviet geopolitical ambitions. However, the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the improvement in Sino-American relations in the 1990s would see many of these fears dissolve, allowing questions about America’s role in Japanese security and their presence on Okinawa to emerge. The 2020s, however, have seen renewed tensions in the region. China’s rise as the world’s second superpower, along with its rapid military modernization and ambitions to re-integrate Taiwan into the People’s Republic of China has arisen great concern in both Japan and the United States, both of whom desire to keep this ambition from materializing. As such, both Japan and the United States have begun a military build up on Okinawa, despite protests by local Okinawans, who fear both the fallout of war being focused on their island, and, as will be seen, the disproportional environmental impact that they have felt for decades.^[16]

The American Military’s Environmental Legacy

With such a heavy presence on Okinawa, the American military has created a staggering amount of damage upon the people, land, and ecology of Okinawa. During the Cold War, especially during the American administration and pre-Détente, the American military had stored vast amounts of nuclear and chemical weapons on the island. Starting in the 1950s, in order to project nuclear power over East Asia, the United States will deploy over 1,200 nuclear weapons on just Okinawa alone.^[17] Fortunately, no incidents of nuclear weapon leaks were reported. But the same can not be said about the vast chemical weapons arsenal that the United States kept on Okinawa. With the first shipments coming in the midst of the Korean War, up to 2,000 metric tons of VX nerve agent alone were stored in Okinawa. In July of 1969, according to the memoirs of famed former national security advisor Henry Kissinger, a US army major decided to repaint several chemical munitions containers by sandblasting them. This resulted in the containers leaking either sarin or VX, both of which are highly lethal nerve agents, causing over 20 American soldiers to be hospitalized due to exposure. This incident was shortly reported after by the Wall Street Journal, as well as in the same article that 200 children had been poisoned after similar chemical weapon leaking incidents near the Ten Gan Pier.^[18] This sparked mass outrage among Okinawans, and resulted in what was to be the beginning of Operation Red Hat, which, by September 1971, had removed all chemical weapons from Okinawa to the remote US military outpost of Johnston Atoll.^[19]

Chemical weapons, however, were not the only, nor the last, source of leaks and chemical contamination that was to affect the island. For decades, the United States had used aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), a foam that was able to rapidly suppress fuel fires, on American military bases since the 1960s.^[20] However, AFFF also contained chemicals known as per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a family of chemicals, which by the 1980s was known to have serious effects on human health, especially reproduction and child development.^[21] Regardless, the US military will continue to maintain AFFF as their main form of fire suppressants. The result was chemical leaks into local rivers and springs, which are used for drinking and agricultural purposes by locals. One of these major leaks occurred in August 2021, when the US Marine Corps, responsible for dumping over 64,000 liters of PFOS-contaminated water into the local sewage system.^[22] Okinawa’s Environmental Protection Division has found that 28 of the 46 sites sampled around US bases exceeded Japan’s water quality standards. One site, downstream from the Futenma Air Base, was found to exceed the national standard 32 times over.^[23] One study had found that Okinawans had some of the highest concentrations of PFAS among Japanese residents, with a particularly high risk for immunotoxicity.^[24] PFAS are not the only chemicals of concern to have been leaked by the US military. In March of 1987, an electrical transformer containing the forever chemicals known as PCBs had fallen and broke at Kadena Air Base. The incident was cleaned up, and as part of standard procedure, a soil sample test was conducted. The results from the sample revealed a concentration more than tens times higher than the oil from the transformer itself, and a follow-up second test showed even higher concentrations.^[25] These results had meant that decades worth of contamination by PCBs had occurred, much to the ignorance of those responsible for them.

Another major source of contamination that was brought upon the people of Okinawa is the consistent and major leaks of fuel and sewage into local water supplies, originating from US military facilities. In January 2016, the US Air Force released nearly 9,000 pages of internal documents regarding their environmental record at Okinawa. The documents had revealed that the US military was aware of hundreds of environmental incidents between the 1990s and 2015. In the 17 years between 1998 and 2015, leaks amounted to tens thousands of liters of jet fuel and diesel, and nearly 500,000 liters of sewage. Many of these incidents are due to outright negligence by personnel; over 700 liters of diesel spilled into one river due to the operator of the generator abandoning prior to a typhoon, while another river saw 1,400 liters of diesel leak after officials ignored a warning light.^[26] Others are due to systemic negligence; the misalignment of a valve in June 2016 resulted in nearly 7,000 liters of jet fuel being spilt at Futenma, while at Camp Schwab in May 2017 saw over 1,000 liters of fuel leaking due to failure to provide environmental safety training.^[27]

The most apparent form of the environmental impact of the US military to anyone who visits Okinawa is the constant noise above them; that noise comes from the countless daily takeoffs from the US military bases at Kadena and Futenma. With the US military constantly deploying powerful and/or large military aircraft, such as F-15 fighter jets or KC-135 stratotankers, there has been a detrimental effect on the health of Okinawans.^[28] One study determined that the noise exposure around Kadena Air Base since 1968 had strongly suggested a high risk of hearing loss among local Okinawans.^[29] Another study revealed that two elementary schools located in the dense neighbors of Ginowan, that are in close proximity to Futenma Air Base, had consistent noise levels above Japanese environmental standards.^[30] In November 2025, a Japanese court in Yokohama ruled in favor of the 8,000 residents who organized a mass lawsuit, stating that the noise levels had caused “caused damage that exceeded what could be tolerated in social life”.^[31] In 2022, an even larger lawsuit was filed by over 35,000 residents, seeking nearly $800 million in compensation and a ban on all flights from 7 AM to 7 PM.^[32] But despite the outrage and legal victories, American air activity has yet to even decrease.

Another principal source of pollution has been the testing and removal of munitions. In 2016, the US military returned some 10,000 acres of northern Okinawan jungle that was used for the Jungle Warfare Training Center back to Okinawa. However, locals quickly discovered that the US military had left massive amounts of old equipment behind, including ammunition, grenades, and shells. By 2023, the Japanese government had removed some 23,000 shells and 8 tons of explosives, but the removal process is still ongoing.^[33] And with the ammunition that the US military did bother to remove before returning, had also poisoned the land of Okinawa. An internal document from January 1995 had revealed that a munitions deactivation furnace had resulted in local soil samples having lead above 600 mg/kg, and as high as 13,813 mg/kg, with 400 mg/kg being considered the level to start threatening human health.^[34] It was found that this was due to the munitions furnace having no emissions control to prevent pollution from spreading.^[35] Such outright negligence has proven to be a repetitive theme among the practices of the US military at Okinawa.

Discontent and Dissent

The tensions of the Cold War had made the government of Japan greatly supportive of the US military presence on Okinawa, despite the controversies. But with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the changing world order, the Japanese government decided to re-evaluate their position. In April of 1996, the Special Action Committee on Okinawa (SACO) published their report, stating that the United States government has agreed to return large amounts of land occupied by US military bases, as well as cease and decrease military training on the island. Importantly, the biggest return would be Futenma Air Base in the center of urban Okinawa within the next five to seven years.^[36]

But while the Japanese government was mostly content with this agreement, the local government and people of Okinawa were not. In September of 1995, a 12-year-old girl had been raped by three US soldiers, an incident which prompted mass outrage and protests among Okinawans.^[37] This incident would later prompt SACO to plan the closing of Futenma base and relocation to a new facility. The new facility was to be built at Henoko, some 40 km northwest of Futenma. However, the new facility would threaten to disrupt the local reef and maritime life, many of which are endangered species.^[38] Thus, many locals are against this new facility, and prefer a new facility to not be on Okinawa at all. In 2018, over 70,000 Okinawan protestors protested against plans to reallocate the base, advocating for removal off the island entirely.^[39] Okinawans have also demonstrated this disapproval in the polls. In 2014, Okinawans appointed a new Governor against the incumbent, who last year had controversially approved Japanese and American landfill plans for the base. Since then, the Okinawan government has tried to delay or even prevent the construction of the new base.^[40]

The relocation of Futenma base is not the only issue Okinawans have risen up to protest. In 2012, the US military ordered the deployment of a unit of V-22 Ospreys to the island. V-22 is a helicopter capable of tilting its rotor vertically or horizontally, allowing for vertical takeup and rapid speeds.^[41] As a result, they are highly complex vehicles with large, and loud, rotor engines, and have seen many crashes occur, including those deployed to Japan.^[42] They have those prompt fears in Okinawans regarding noise pollution and potential crashes on the island, thus prompting over 100,000 protestors to emerge against the decision.^[43] Importantly, with Okinawa’s position as a prime target in any future conflicts in East Asia, many Okinawans have the entire idea of both the US and Japanese military’s presence there too, fearing a repeat of the Battle of Okinawa, still remembered by many elder Okinawans.^[44]

Okinawans have not only protested these actions, but also pursued for their environmental rights through the Japanese justice system. In February 2025, a judge awarded nearly 3,200 plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit an additional $5.8 million to another court’s 2022 award, giving them $14.2 million. But this is just one of five separate lawsuits that have been filed for damages regarding US noise pollution alone.^[45] And importantly, while Japan has paid about $470 million in damages regarding these cases, the US has paid no damages at all, despite an agreement that the US was to pay for 75% of all damages.^[46] Regardless, Okinawans have continued to file lawsuits in protests of the damages, determined to voice their grievances and evidence of the violations committed against them by the US military’s actions.

 

 

Okinawa Now

In the face of such backlash, the US military has undertaken several reforms to improve their environmental record. In 1995, the United States and Japan signed the “Japan Environmental Governing Standards” (JEGS), an agreement to set basic rules and requirements for US military bases present in Japan regarding how to manage, contain, and respond to waste and hazardous spills.^[47] This agreement has continued to be updated every 1 to 2 years, as Japanese and US officials meet and discuss their concerns. Other agreements include the “Status of Forces Agreement” (SOFA), initially established in 1960, and established a Joint Committee between the two governments regarding the US military presence within Japan, including Okinawa.^[48]

On the bases themselves, progress has been seen. In June 2023, the US military announced that they had completed the replacement of all the fire suppressant foams within their military bases with new foams that do not contain PFAS chemicals, as well stating their plan to incinerate at licensed facilities in Japan the legacy foams.^[49] They have also engaged in active cooperation with Japanese officials, such as engaging in active dialogue when, in April 2020, an aircraft hanger saw an accident trigger of their fire suppressant foam system, causing another PFAS chemical leak incident. The incident was noted by US Forces Japan for their close cooperation with the Okinawan and Japanese governments.^[50] In addition, with the designation of northern Okinawa as a World Heritage Site, the US and Japanese governments had formed a committee regarding the environmental integrity of the northern portion of the island.^[51]

But while it appears that the US military is attempting to improve their environmental legacy on Okinawa, they are still coming up short. Many of the incidents of PFAS and fuel leaks have occurred in just the past few years, such as a PFAS leak involving 140,000 liters of fire suppression foam in 2020 from Kadena base. This has caused a serious effect on Okinawa’s water supply, including the contamination of a major water treatment plant and the rising price of local’s water bills in order to contain and repair the damages. It is believed that as many as 440,000 residents were now drinking contaminated water due to this incident. Yet, of the six requests that the Okinawan government has made to inspect the bases between 2016 and 2024, only two were allowed.^[52] Another serious and recent incident was in May 2024, an E-3 Sentry aircraft operated by the US Air Force reported a leak of 42 gallons of jet fuel, which ultimately ended up in the Kadena Marina, a popular diving and boating site used by locals.^[53] And, despite the mass protests, construction at the planned base at Henoko has not ceased, with full-scale landfilling beginning in August 2024, much to the chagrin of locals.^[54]

Likewise, the V-22 Ospreys that were so vehemently protested against by locals in 2012 are still present on the islands, continuing routine operations ever since then. Although no crashes have occurred on the island itself, such fears have ultimately manifested. In November 2023, a V-22 Osprey crashed off the coast of Yakushima Island, en route to Okinawa, killing all eight passengers, and resulted in all US military V-22 Ospreys being grounded for months, further exasperating fears among locals about these aircraft.^[55] But while the Ospreys may have remained grounded, other aircraft did not. While many plaintiffs have seen their lawsuits regarding aircraft noise pollution be won in courts, the courts have also rejected their pleas for flight suspensions. And with the Japanese government paying the bill, the US military has no actual legal or financial incentives to reorganize their flight plans.^[56] As such, American military planes still take off daily with the same incessant frequency. The US military has, despite the progress and promises they have made, still conducts itself on Okinawa the same they have done so for decades.

Necessary Steps

If the United States truly wishes to continue in maintaining a presence on the islands, that would be both beneficial for security and for good relationships with local Okinawans, it must undertake serious reforms and new initiatives for the Okinawan bases. It can, for example, take initiatives for further transparency on their environmental impact and incidents with the national Japanese and local Okinawan governments. In 2014 alone, the US military had recorded 59 accidents, but only reported 2 of them with Japanese authorities. Many of the environmental impact reports made as well were never shared or consulted with the Japanese authorities as well.^[57] Accountability would be entrenched by sharing unrestricted data with the Okinawa government, as well as allowing them to conduct their own tests as well. The United States should also be responsible for paying for all damages caused, rather than the Japanese government paying on their behalf, such as with the recent civil suits over noise pollution caused by US aircraft.^[58]

Importantly, the military must engage in dialogue and cooperation with local Okinawans, as they are the most affected by the American military environmental record, as well as the most vocal, as indicated by the many protests that have occurred. Should incidents occur, the US military should establish a system to immediately notify local officials and quickly organize cleanup and containment efforts. Therefore, the American military should be transparent and public when incidents occur, as well as openly responsive to questioning and dialogue. Regularly scheduled town hall events between military officials and locals should occur, in order to air grievances, settle misunderstandings and promote a sense that the US military is actively sympathetic to the plights of the Okinawans. In addition, a joint office of both American, Japanese, and Okinawan scientists should be established for environmental cleanup programs.

Programs to remediate the environmental damages caused by the military, such as contamination of local water supplies and soil poisoning, should be established as well. The repairing and renovation of fluid tanks, runoff systems, and dumping sites should be conducted on-site, while off-site the United States can provide funding and expertise to help with cleanup. Constant treatment and monitoring of water from US military facilities should be conducted, as an established system to rapidly respond to any fuel, sewage, or chemical spills that may occur on-base. The US military could also limit the number of air sorties and takeoffs they conduct, limiting them to certain times or days, such as a ban from 7 PM to 7 AM proposed in one lawsuit.

The US military should also conduct an audit and analysis of itself, its assets, and its facilities on Okinawa. Facilities that are essential to the strategic mission on only Okinawa should be dismantled and returned to local Okinawans, such as when they returned the land that used to be the Jungle Warfare Training Center in 2016.^[59] Facilities and land that are found either redundant, excessive, or unnecessary, could be consolidated and/or returned to the Okinawan government, allowing for economic development on the land-scarce island. In addition, the US military should conduct an audit to determine the number of possible pollutant sources, and inadequate safety measures to avoid further environmental incidents in the future.

In the case of Futenma’s planned reallocation, the US military should be open and responsive with both their own interests and the interests of Okinawans. Although the site has partially begun landfilling, for many Okinawans it is not too late to freeze construction and further engage in discussion.^[60] Henoko is not the only viable area to construct a new US military base to replace Futenma, as evidenced by the port and international airport of Okinawa’s main city, Naha. Nor is Okinawa Island, despite being the largest, the only island in the prefecture, with many other sites that still give strategic value are nearby. The US military should conduct an environmental impact study, evaluating the impact of the new base on local reefs and marine life, as well as residents in the form of noise pollution and disruption caused by military activity. In addition, the previously mentioned open dialogue and meetings with Okinawans should occur. If the US military takes these steps, it would please many Okinawans and show the military willingness to be cooperative and friendly, as the new base controversy has become a focal point for many Okinawans.^[61]

Conclusion

Shortly after the CH-53D crashed into Okinawa International University, US military officials swarmed in and cordoned off the area from non-Americans, despite the crash under local, Okinawan civilian jurisdiction. Once again, this triggered mass outrage and protests by Okinawans, but this incident was not new to them, nor will it cause any new reform to occur.^[62]

For eighty years, the US military has continued to occupy and operate its bases on Okinawa without any true repercussions. American military officials have allowed PFAS and PCBs to leak into the local water and soil supplies, neglecting attempts to properly store and remove these chemicals. They have negligently allowed aviation fuel, diesel fuel, and sewage wastewater to contaminate the rivers and springs of Okinawa. Aircraft fly incessantly over daily, drowning out entire neighborhoods, while the ground below is poisoned by munitions wastes and chemical contamination.

In the face of such inequality, the Okinawan people have no choice but to fight back, both via mass protests and mass lawsuits. But while these protests and lawsuits are admirable, they have shown little effect on the US military, who continues to poison the island to this day. As such, animosity and resentment between the Okinawan community and the US military will continue to grow, at the detriment of both. Okinawans will continue to see their neighborhoods poisoned by the US military, while the US military now runs the risk of seeing permanent reputational damage in Okinawa, Japan, and the world. This has become more important than ever to the United States, as it contends with China for both diplomatic and military supremacy in the Asia Pacific region. Thus, Okinawa is not just a story of environmental pollution, but also of an example of the negligence that the American military can have on the American reputation worldwide, and thus its continued future as the most omnipresent and global state in history.

 

^[1] Eldridge, Robert D. “Anatomy of a Crash: Local Reactions and Official Responses to the 2004 Futenma Helicopter Accident and Its Aftermath (2).” International Public Policy Studies, 2009.

^[2] Eldridge, pg. 137-138

^[3] “History of Okinawa/Okinawa Island Guide.” Okinawa Island Guide. Accessed December 2, 2025. https://www.oki-islandguide.com/history.

^[4] Battle of Okinawa. Accessed December 3, 2025. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/topics/battle-of-okinawa.

^[5] “Base-Related Data.” Information Portal of Military Bases on Okinawa by the Okinawa Prefectural Government. Accessed December 2, 2025. https://dc-office.org/basedata.

^[6]Noise pollution: Mitsuzumi, Shogo. “Okinawans File Mass Lawsuit over U.S. Base Noise Pollution: The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis.” The Asahi Shimbun, January 29, 2022. https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14535305.

Fuel leaks: Mitchell, Jon. “Contamination at Largest US Air Force Base in Asia: Kadena, Okinawa.” Asia-Pacific Journal 14, no. 9 (2016): e2. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1557466016012547.

Chemical soil poisoning: Mitchell, Jon. “PFAS Contamination from US Military Facilities in Mainland Japan and Okinawa.” Asia-Pacific Journal 18, no. 16 (2020): e8. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1557466020030259.

^[7] Britannica Editors. “Okinawa.” Encyclopedia Britannica, December 6, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/place/Okinawa-prefecture-Japan.

^[8] Skoggard, Ian A. 2001. “Culture Summary: Okinawans.” 2001, New Haven, Conn. Preprint, HRAF. https://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/cultures/ac07/documents/000.

^[9] Meyer, Stanisław. “Between a Forgotten Colony and an Abandoned Prefecture: Okinawa’s Experience of Becoming Japanese in the Meiji and Taishō Eras.” Asia-Pacific Journal 18, no. 3 (October 2020). https://doi.org/10.1017/s1557466020030557.

^[10] McLauchlan, Alastair A. 2014. “War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity on Okinawa: Guilt on Both Sides.” Journal of Military Ethics 13 (4): 363–80. doi:10.1080/15027570.2014.991512.

^[11] For the origins of Kadena, see: “Kadena Ab.” Military Installations. Accessed December 7, 2025. https://installations.militaryonesource.mil/in-depth-overview/kadena-ab.

For the origins of Futenma, see: Daly, Kyle. “Beyond the Fence Line: Understanding MCAS Futenma and  Okinawa’s Grievances.” Marine Corps Association. Accessed December 7, 2025. https://www.mca-marines.org/wp-content/uploads/Beyond-the-Fence-Line.pdf.

^[12] “Occupation and Reconstruction of Japan, 1945–52.” Office of the Historian. Accessed December 7, 2025. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/japan-reconstruction.

^[13] “The U.S. Returns Okinawa to Japan, 1971.” Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. Accessed December 7, 2025. https://adst.org/2016/07/u-s-returns-okinawa-japan-1971/.

^[14] For the nuclear weapons storage, see: Nuclear Weapons on Okinawa Declassified December 2015, Photos Available since 1990.” National Security Archive. Accessed December 7, 2025. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/japan-nuclear-vault/2016-02-19/nuclear-weapons-okinawa-declassified-december-2015-photos-available-1990.

For the involvement of Okinawa in the Vietnam War, see; Mitchell, Jon. “The War Legacy That Binds Okinawa and Vietnam.” The Japan Times, November 11, 2012. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2012/11/11/general/the-war-legacy-that-binds-okinawa-and-vietnam/#.UfrwT-D8820.

^[15] “The U.S. Returns Okinawa to Japan, 1971.” Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. Accessed December 7, 2025. https://adst.org/2016/07/u-s-returns-okinawa-japan-1971/.

^[16] McCartney, Micah. “Okinawa Governor Sounds Warning over New Missiles near Pacific Flashpoint.” Newsweek, December 4, 2025. https://www.newsweek.com/okinawa-governor-sounds-warning-new-missiles-pacific-flashpoint-11146788.

^[17] “The History of U.S. Decision-Making on Nuclear Weapons in Japan.” Federation of American Scientists, May 4, 2023. https://fas.org/publication/the-history-of-u-s-decision-making-on-nuclear-weapons-in-japan/.

^[18]For the leak itself, see pg 2. For the water contamination, see pg. 9. Mitchell, Jon. “Operation Red Hat: Chemical Weapons and the Pentagon Smokescreen on Okinawa.” Asia-Pacific Journal 11, no. 21 (2013): e4. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1557466013033974.

^[19] Kissinger, Henry. “Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to Secretary of Defense Laird.” December 5th, 1970. in Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XIX, Part 2, Japan, 1969–1972, Document 63 https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v19p2/d63

^[20] Mitchell, Jon. “PFAS Contamination from US Military Facilities in Mainland Japan and Okinawa.” Asia-Pacific Journal 18, no. 16 (2020): e8. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1557466020030259.

^[21] “Our Current Understanding of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed December 15, 2025. https://www.epa.gov/pfas/our-current-understanding-human-health-and-environmental-risks-pfas.

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