Ryukyu independence movement

The Ryukyu independence movement (琉球独立運動, Ryūkyū Dokuritsu Undō) is a separatist movement in Japan advocating the independence of the Ryukyu Islands (commonly referred to as Okinawa after the largest island).^[1] Some support the restoration of the Ryukyu Kingdom, while others advocate the establishment of a Republic of the Ryukyus (Japanese: 琉球共和国, Kyūjitai: 琉球共和國, Hepburn: Ryūkyū Kyōwakoku).

The current political manifestation of the movement emerged in 1945, after the end of the Pacific War. Some Ryukyuan people felt, as the Allied Occupation (USMGRI 1945–1950) began, that the Ryukyus should eventually become an independent state instead of being returned to Japan. However, the islands were returned to Japan on 15 May 1972 as the Okinawa Prefecture according to the 1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement. The US-Japan Security Treaty (ANPO) signed in 1952 provides for the continuation of the American military presence in Japan, and the United States continues to maintain a heavy military presence on Okinawa Island. This set the stage for renewed political activism for Ryukyuan independence. In 2022, public opinion polling in Okinawa put support for independence at 3% of the local population.^[2]

The Ryukyu independence movement maintains that both the 1609 invasion by Satsuma Domain and the Meiji construction of the Okinawa prefecture are colonial annexations of the Ryukyu Kingdom. It is highly critical of the abuses of Ryukyuan people and territory, both in the past and in the present day (such as the use of Okinawan land to host American military bases).^[3] Advocates for independence also emphasize the environmental and social impacts of the American bases in Okinawa.^[4][5]