Okinawa Remains at Mercy of Armed Forces: Expert

   Tokyo, June 20 (Jiji Press)--Residents of Okinawa Prefecture continue to be at the mercy of armed forces since World War II, Takeshi Yamaguchi, an expert working to share testimonies of war survivors in the southernmost Japanese prefecture, said.
   Survivors wish for the island prefecture to never become a battlefield again, said Yamaguchi, professor of social studies education at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa.
   The prefecture hosts many U.S. military bases, following its occupation by U.S. armed forces after Japan's defeat in the Battle of Okinawa in the closing days of World War II.
   The Battle of Okinawa was the biggest land battle in the Pacific Theater of the war, killing some 200,000 people including civilians.
   The U.S. military stormed the main island of Okinawa on April 1, 1945, after landing on the nearby Kerama Islands on March 26 that year.

(2025/06/20-09:30)

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