The contemporary political history of
Okinawa (the Ryukyu Islands)

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Freedom of information comes at price for Okinawans
By Masaya Maruyama, Mainichi Shimbun, Saturday, 8 May 1999. Okinawa residents are disgruntled that the newly passed Freedom of Information Law does not include Okinawa's Naha District Court. It is anticipated that when the law is enforced, withhin two years of its passage, there will be a series of requests from residents of Okinawa for the disclosure of information related to defense issues.
Okinawa seeks new rules
Mainichi Shimbun, Monday 2 September 2000. The Okinawa Prefectural Government is demanding a review of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement, which defines the legal status of U.S. military forces in Japan. The agreement, based on the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, was reached in 1960.
Okinawans on hunger strike over SDF deployment
Kyodo News, 21 November 2001. About 30 Okinawa citizens began a 32-hour hunger strike to protest the dispatch of Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to lend noncombat support to the U.S. military operations in Afghanistan (brief).