Okinawa bears a disproportionate burden for the alliance, with 70 percent of U.S. bases in Japan located on the islands. That makes the prefecture both strategically important and vulnerable.

A new documentary film that depicts the long campaigns waged by two Okinawa governors against the concentration of U.S. military bases in the prefecture will be released on April 19 nationwide.

The World War II Battle of Okinawa left an estimated 240,000 people killed or missing — and 80 years later, their bones are still being unearthed by dedicated volunteers. Japan’s southernmost ...

Bereaved family members and those who lived through the war place their hands together in tribute in Zamami, Okinawa Prefecture, on March 26, 2025. (Mainichi/Shinnosuke Kyan) NAHA -- An Okinawa ...

A memorial ceremony was held in an Okinawa Prefecture village on Wednesday, the 80th anniversary of the U.S. military's landing on the Kerama Islands, which preceded fierce ground battles in the ...

Ships and planes would be able to transport around 110,000 residents and 10,000 visitors from the Sakishima Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, to eight south-western and western prefectures within six ...

Japan's government has compiled a plan to evacuate people from remote islands in the southwestern prefecture of Okinawa in the event of emergencies. The plan, the first of its kind, was released ...

KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — The U.S. Air Force is expected to begin deploying F-15EX Eagle II fighters to the home of the 18th Wing in spring 2026, according to the wing commander. The first of ...

Ships and planes would be able to transport around 110,000 residents and 10,000 visitors from the Sakishima Islands in Okinawa Prefecture to eight southwestern and western prefectures within six days ...