In July 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that USFJ would be upgraded to a "joint operational headquarters", a move U.S. Secretary of DefenseLloyd Austin characterized as "the most significant change to U.S. Forces Japan since its creation".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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In 1951, the Treaty of San Francisco, signed by the Allies and Japan, formally ended the state of war with the Allies and restored Japan's formal sovereignty. At the same time, the U.S. and Japan signed the Japan-America Security Alliance, a ten-year renewable agreement.<ref name=1951-ToSF>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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20th century
During the Vietnam War, U.S. military bases in Japan, especially those in the Okinawa Prefecture, were used as important strategic and logistic bases. In 1970, the Koza riot occurred against the U.S. military presence on Okinawa. Strategic bombers were deployed to the bases on Okinawa. Before the 1972 reversion of the island to Japanese administration, it has been speculated but never confirmed that up to 1,200 nuclear weapons may have been stored at Kadena Air Base during the 1960s.<ref>疑惑が晴れるのはいつか, Okinawa Times, 16 May 1999</ref>
The relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko Bay was resolved in December 2013 with the signing of a landfill agreement by the governor of Okinawa. Under the terms of the U.S.-Japan agreement, 5,000 U.S. Marines were relocated to Guam, and 4,000 Marines were sent to other Pacific locations such as Hawaii or Australia, while around 10,000 Marines were to remain on Okinawa.<ref name="CNN 20120427">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Aljaz20120427">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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}}</ref> No timetable for the Marines redeployment was announced, but The Washington Post reported that U.S. Marines would leave Okinawa as soon as suitable facilities on Guam and elsewhere were ready.<ref name="WP20120427" /> The relocation move was expected to cost $8.6 billion,<ref name="CNN 20120427" /> including a $3.1 billion cash commitment from Japan for the move to Guam as well as for developing joint training ranges on Guam and on Tinian and Pagan in the Northern Mariana Islands.<ref name="Aljaz20120427" /> Certain parcels of land on Okinawa which were leased for use by the American military were supposed to be turned back to Japanese control via a long-term phased return process according to the agreement.<ref name="WP20120427" /> These returns have been ongoing since 1972.Template:Citation needed In October 2020, Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz was activated on Guam. The new base is meant to house Marines relocated from Okinawa, with the final relocation planned for 2025.<ref name="PDN_20210208">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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In March 2024, media reporting suggested that the organizational remit and status of USFJ would be changed—possibly including the creation of a new joint task force as well as the elevation of the USFJ commander's rank—as part of a broader 'upgrading' of the U.S.-Japan alliance to be announced during the April 2024 visit of Japanese Prime MinisterFumio Kishida to the United States.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As part of that visit, Prime Minister Kishida and U.S. PresidentJoe Biden stated the following in a Joint Leaders' Statement:
Recognizing the speed at which regional security challenges evolve and to ensure our bilateral Alliance structures meet these critical changes, we announce our intention to bilaterally upgrade our respective command and control frameworks to enable seamless integration of operations and capabilities and allow for greater interoperability and planning between U.S. and Japanese forces in peacetime and during contingencies. More effective U.S.-Japan Alliance command and control will strengthen deterrence and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific in the face of pressing regional security challenges. We call on our respective defense and foreign ministries to develop this new relationship through the Security Consultative Committee (our security "2+2").<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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In July 2024, DOD announced that USFJ would be upgraded to a joint operational headquarters. According to one DOD official, this will result in USFJ transitioning from a primarily "administrative command" into an organization with more operational and warfighting responsibilities.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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United States presence debate
Template:See alsoAs of May 2022, the stationing of U.S. military personnel at military facilities across Okinawa Island remains a hotly-contested and controversial issue, with the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma often being at the forefront of protests against the presence of U.S. military presence on the island.<ref name=":03">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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}}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Okinawa makes up only 0.6% of the nation's land area;<ref name="japantimes2008_basics_of_us_presence">Yoshida, Reiji, "Basics of the U.S. military presence", Japan Times, 25 March 2008, p. 3.</ref> yet, approximately 62% of United States bases in Japan (exclusive use only) are on Okinawa.<ref>http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/site/chijiko/kichitai/documents/petition20031116.pdfTemplate:Webarchive, Okinawa Prefectural Government</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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}}</ref> Despite an agreement to relocate Marine Corps Air Station Futenma first being reached by the Japanese and U.S. governments in 1996, progress to relocate the base has stalled because of the protests as well as environmental concerns resulting from the construction, operation and relocation of the base.<ref name=":03"/><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":23">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>Template:Quote box
The U.S. government employs over eight thousand Master Labor Contract/Indirect Hire Agreement workers on Okinawa (per the Labor Management Organization), not including Okinawan contract workers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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There is also debate over the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) since it covers a variety of administrative technicalities blending the systems which control how certain situations are handled between the U.S.'s and Japan's legal framework.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Surveys among Japanese
In May 2010, a survey of the Okinawan people conducted by the Mainichi Shimbun and the Ryūkyū Shimpō, found that 71% of Okinawans surveyed thought that the presence of Marines on Okinawa was not necessary (15% said it was necessary). When asked what they thought about 62% of exclusive use United States Forces Japan bases being concentrated on Okinawa, 50% said that the number should be reduced and 41% said that the bases should be removed. When asked about the US-Japan security treaty, 55% said it should be a peace treaty, 14% said it should be abolished, and 7% said it should be maintained.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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}}</ref> Many Okinawans challenge colonial narratives around the foreign military presence and this contributes to the decolonisation on knowledge. Many question if the presence is beneficial for the people.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A 2023 research paper in the International Relations of the Asia-Pacific journal found that, Okinawans have "considerably unfavorable attitudes toward the US military presence in their prefecture... regardless of their contact with Americans and economic benefits and their general support for the US military presence within Japan." Their finding supported a "not-in-my-backyard" reason for the negativity.
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Many of the bases, such as Yokota Air Base, Naval Air Facility Atsugi and Kadena Air Base, are located in the vicinity of residential districts, and local citizens have complained about excessive aircraft noise.<ref>基地騒音の問題Template:Webarchive, Yamato City</ref><ref>横田基地における騒音防止対策の徹底について（要請）Template:Webarchive, Tokyo Metropolitan Government</ref><ref>嘉手納町の概要Template:Webarchive, Kadena Town</ref> The 2014 poll by Ryūkyū Shimpō found that 80% of surveyed Okinawans want the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma moved out of the prefecture.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 25 June 2018, Okinawan residents protested against the construction of a new airfield. Activists holding placards and banners went to sea on 70 boats and ships. Protesters urged the Japanese authorities to stop the expansion of the U.S. military presence on the island. Some of the boats went to the guarded construction site, where they came across the Coast Guard patrol vessels. Some activists were arrested for entering a prohibited zone.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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On 11 August 2018, about 70,000 protesters gathered at a park in the prefecture capital of Naha to protest the planned relocation of a U.S. military base on the southern Japanese island. Opponents of the relocation said the plan to move Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from a crowded neighborhood to a less populated coastal site would not only affect the environment, but would also go against local wishes to have the base moved from the island entirely.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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At the beginning of the occupation of Japan in 1945, many U.S. soldiers participated in the Special Comfort Facility Association.<ref name=ny19951027/> The Japanese government organised the enslavement of 55,000 women to work providing sexual services to U.S. military personnel before the surrender.<ref name=ny19951027>Template:Cite news</ref> On discovery of the program, the association was closed by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.<ref name=ny19951027/>
Between 1972 and 2009, U.S. servicemen committed 5,634 criminal offenses, including 25 murders, 385 burglaries, 25 arsons, 127 rapes, 306 assaults, and 2,827 thefts.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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In 2016,The Japan Times stated that "crimes ranging from rape to assault and hit-and-run accidents by U.S. military personnel, dependents and civilians have long sparked protests in the prefecture."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> "A series of horrific crimes by present and former U.S. military personnel stationed on Okinawa has triggered dramatic moves to try to reduce the American presence on the island and in Japan as a whole," commented The Daily Beast in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1995, the abduction and rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl by two U.S. Marines and one U.S. sailor led to demands for the removal of all U.S. military bases in Japan. Other controversial incidents include the Girard incident in 1957, the Michael Brown Okinawa assault incident in 2002, the death of the Kinjo family in 1996, and the hit-and-run death of Yuki Uema in 1998. In February 2008, a 38-year-old U.S. Marine based on Okinawa was arrested in connection with the reported rape of a 14-year-old Okinawan girl.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This triggered waves of protest against American military presence on Okinawa and led to tight restrictions on off-base activities.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Although the accuser withdrew her charges, the U.S. military court-martialed the suspect and sentenced him to four years in prison under the stricter rules of the military justice system.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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U.S. Forces Japan designated 22 February as a "Day of Reflection" for all U.S. military facilities in Japan and established the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Task Force in an effort to prevent similar incidents.<ref>U.S. imposes curfew on Okinawa forces, The Japan Times, 21 February 2008</ref> In November 2009, Staff Sergeant Clyde "Drew" Gunn, a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Torii Station was involved in a hit-and-run accident of a pedestrian in Yomitan Village on Okinawa. In April 2010, Gunn was charged with failing to render aid and vehicular manslaughter,<ref>http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/hit-and-run-charge-added-for-us-soldier-indicted-in-okinawaTemplate:Dead link</ref> and he was sentenced to two years and eight months in jail.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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In 2013, Seaman Christopher Browning and Petty Officer 3rd Class Skyler Dozierwalker were found guilty by the Naha District Court of raping and robbing a woman in a parking lot in October. Both admitted committing the crime. The case outraged Okinawans and sparked tougher restrictions for all U.S. military personnel in Japan, including a curfew and drinking restrictions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On 13 May 2013, in a controversial statement, Toru Hashimoto, Mayor of Osaka and co-leader of the Japan Restoration Association said to a senior American military official at the Marine Corps base on Okinawa that "we can't control the sexual energy of these brave Marines." He said that Marines should make more use of the local adult entertainment industry to reduce sexual crimes against local women.<ref name="nyt20130514" /> Hashimoto also spoke of the necessity of former Japanese Army comfort women and of prostitutes for the U.S. military in other countries such as Korea.<ref name="nyt20130514">Template:Cite news</ref>
In June 2016, after a civilian worker at the base was charged with murdering a Japanese woman, thousands of people protested on Okinawa.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Organizers estimated turnout at 65,000 people, which was the largest anti-base protests on Okinawa since 1995.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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In 2024, a U.S. service member in Okinawa was sentenced to five years in prison for kidnapping and sexual assault of a minor. The case have drawn a lot of attention in the media as well as igniting debate.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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In October 2012, twelve MV-22 Ospreys were transferred to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to replace aging Vietnam-era Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Environmental concerns have taken the forefront of the debate over the presence of U.S. military forces on Okinawa.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Since the late 1990s, environmental concerns elevated by both local residents as well as larger Okinawan and Japanese environmental action groups and independent activists have often resulted in public protests and demonstrations against the relocation of existing U.S. military bases and the construction of replacement facilities, which have been labelled by some as examples of "modern colonialism".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In particular, lingering environmental concerns over the disruption or destruction of coastal and marine habitats off the shores of Okinawa from construction, relocation and operation of U.S. military bases on Okinawa, has resulted in the protracted and continuing delayal of plans to relocate military facilities, such as Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.<ref name=":03"/><ref name=":23"/>
Okinawa dugong lawsuit
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, initial plans to relocate Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to a new facility located offshore in Henoko Bay were met with strong resistance after sightings of dugong were reported in areas surrounding territory earmarked for the relocated airbase.<ref name=":33">Template:Cite journal</ref> A critically endangered species, dugong were traditionally fished and hunted throughout Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands.<ref name=":33"/> This drew the attention of local, national and international environmental action groups, who raised concerns that land reclamation projects tied to the construction of an offshore airbase in Henoko Bay would result in the destruction of nearby dugong habitats and coastal ecosystems.<ref name=":43">Template:Cite journal</ref> Despite this, plans were set forth to continue ahead with the relocation of the base, notably, flouting the results of a 1997 referendum where the majority voted to reject a replacement facility.<ref name=":33"/>
In opposition to this, in September 2003, a group of Okinawan, Japanese and U.S. environmental organizations filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Federal Court to protest the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.<ref name=":33"/> This lawsuit, initially entitled Okinawa Dugong v. Rumsfeld, argued that the U.S. Department of Defense failed to consider the impacts that relocating the base would have upon the local dugong population, in turn, violating the U.S. National Historic Preservation Act.<ref name=":43"/> This case was closed in January 2008; notably for the plaintiffs, it was ruled that the Department of Defense, by not considering the impacts of the relocated airbase upon the local dugong population, had in fact violated the National Historic Preservation Act, thus delaying the relocation of the base.<ref name=":33" />
Water contamination
Concerns over water contamination have also exacerbated recent tensions surrounding the presence of U.S. military bases in Okinawa.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Subsequent tests around Kadena Air Base, specifically the training site 50 meters west of Dakujaku River, confirmed severe contamination in the water system with PFAS chemicals.<ref name="pfas1"/> These chemicals reach 10s of meters underground while plumes spread for several kilometers from these contaminated training sites flowed into nearby wells and waterways of Dakujaku River and Hija River which contaminated the drinking water of 450,000 residents.<ref name="pfas1"/> These toxic chemicals originate from firefighting foams which contain PFAS and were used at training sites during the 1970s and 80s.<ref name="pfas1"/> However, the U.S. and Japanese governments say that the source of the issue cannot be confirmed.<ref name="pfas1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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On Okinawa, U.S. military installations occupy about 10.4% of the total land usage. Approximately 74.7% of all the U.S. military facilities in Japan are located on the island of Okinawa.Template:Citation needed
List of former facilities
The United States has returned some facilities to Japanese control. Some are used as military bases of the JSDF; others have become civilian airports or government offices; many are factories, office buildings or residential developments in the private sector. Due to the Special Actions Committee on Okinawa, more land on Okinawa is in the process of being returned. These areas include Camp Kuwae (also known as Camp Lester), MCAS Futenma, areas within Camp Zukeran (also known as Camp Foster) located about Template:Convert of the Northern Training Area, Aha Training Area, Gimbaru Training Area (also known as Camp Gonsalves), a small portion of the Makiminato Service Area (also known as Camp Kinser), and Naha Port.Template:Citation needed
Army:
Army Composite Service Group Area (later, Chinen Service Area), Nanjō, Okinawa
Army STRATCOM Warehouse (later, Urasoe Warehouse), Urasoe, Okinawa
