Because the islands are close to China and Taiwan, the United States has large military bases on the island. The area of 14 US bases are 233 square kilometres (90 sq mi), occupying 18% of the main island. okinawa accounts for less than one percent of Japan’s land, but hosts about two-thirds of the 40,000 American forces in the country. Two major bases, Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and Kadena Air Base are located near residential areas. One third (9,852 acres) of the land used by the U.S. military is the Marine Corps Northern Training Area in the north of the island.

85% of Okinawans oppose the presence of the U.S. military due to noise pollution from military drills, aircraft accidents, environmental degradation, and crimes committed by U.S. military personnel. The Okinawan prefectural government and local municipalities have made various withdrawal demands of the US military since the end of WWII, but any fundamental solution was never performed by both of the Japanese and U.S. governments.

According to historian Peter Schrijvers, “The estimate of one Okinawan historian for the entire three-month period of the campaign exceeds 10,000. A figure that does not seem unlikely when one realizes that during the first 10 days of the occupation of Japan there were 1,336 reported cases of rape of Japanese women by American soldiers in Kanagawa prefecture alone”. According to Schrijvers, U.S. rape was “a general practice against Japanese women”. In 1998 the remains of 3 executed presumed rapists from the occupation forces were discovered in a cave.

In 1955 Isaac J. Hart was accused but not convicted of the rape and murder of six-year-old Yumiko. This is known as “The Yumiko Incident”. Forty years later, on September 4, 1995, two U.S. marines and a sailor abducted and raped a 12-year-old girl. At the time of the incident, Japanese police could not arrest the men known to be involved because they had to remain with the United States military until charged in a court, see U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement. Anti-military base emotions erupted in some of the largest protests in recent history. Eventually through political pressure, the soldiers were tried and convicted in early 1996. As a result of this incident the Status of Forces Agreement, which was criticized for being too protective of U.S. servicemen involved in crimes, underwent revision. A movement to reduce the size of US military presence on okinawa gained popularity. In November of 1995, a group called “Okinawan Women Act Against military Violence” was organized to raise awareness of crimes alleged to have been committed by U.S. military personnel on the island. Sentiments against the United States military presence in okinawa were inflamed further by the Michael Brown okinawa assault incident, in which a Marine Corps major charged with attempted rape (and later convicted of the reduced charge of attempted indecent assault) was not turned over to the Japanese authorities at their request. okinawa authorities pressed for a modification of the Status of Forces Agreement in an effort to remove the military’s unilateral right to determine whether it would turn over a servicemember charged with a serious crime.

Tensions increased even more following allegations of an assault committed by an American servicemen against a minor, a restriction was imposed to all U.S. military and Status of Forces Agreement eligible personnel at bases in okinawa and Iwakuni in February, 2008. It has since been lifted.

In April 2008 the U.S. military charged a Marine with raping a 14-year-old girl in okinawa, pressing ahead with a case that spurred protests against the U.S. presence on the island. U.S. military charges against Staff Sgt. Tyrone L. Hadnott include rape of a child under 16, abusive sexual conduct, making a false official statement, adultery and “kidnapping through inveigling,” or trickery. Hadnott was later cleared of the charge of rape and kidnapping and convicted on the assault charge with a prison sentence of three years.