Chosuke Yara, leader of the Ryuku Independence Party. Source: NYT 5 July 2013.. 

On 5 July 2013, the New York Times published an article by Martin Fackler about the recent revival of the Okinawan independence movement.

Mr. Higa and other advocates admit that few islanders would actually seek independence for Okinawa, the southernmost Japanese island chain, which is home to 1.4 million residents and more than half of the 50,000 American troops and sailors based in Japan. But discontent with the heavy American presence and a growing perception that the central government is ignoring Okinawans’ pleas to reduce it have made an increasing number of islanders willing to at least flirt publicly with the idea of breaking apart in a way that local politicians and scholars say they have not seen in decades.

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