A Study On "Secret Deal" During Okinawa Negotiations On Ex-gratia Claims

The "Okinawa Secret Deal" refers to a U.S.-Japan secret pact agreed on ex-gratia claims payments on restoration costs of Military land during Okinawa negotiations.Its conclusion and disclosure is interwoven with military land problem,okinawa reversion negotiations,U.S.-Japan relations and domestic politics and societies.This dissertation,based on newly declassified U.S.and Japan official Archives and other primary and secondary materials,aims at studying on Okinawa Land Problem,Okinwas Negotiations on Ex-Gratia Claims payments on restoration costs and Nishiyama Incident,which are closely interlinked but divergent issues,to verify the truth of Okinawa Serect Deal and to elucidate their mutuality or interrelation,cause and effect respectively.The Land Problem in 1950s is a grave crisis during U.S.Administration on Okianwa,which also forms the origin and background of agreement on so-called Okinawa Serect Deal.Under U.S.military occupation,the procurement of large scale of land for military-use forms the rudiment of the U.S.military bases in Okinawa.The FEC Directive of 1950,which instructed the newly-established USCAR,subject to.requirement of military security,that it should secure title to the real estate or facilities required by U.S.Government through negotiated purchase or condemnation,marks the formation of the U.S.policy toward military land in Okinawa.Until the coming into force of the Peace Treaty,the Armed Force of the United States has occupied and used a large amount of lands without paying any rent or compensation,left behind the Pre-Treaty Claims issue.With the Peace Treaty coming into force,U.S authority implemented a policy on land acquisition for military use through purchase plus condemnation with payment of rentals instructed by the FEC Directive.According to the new FEC directive of 1952,USCAR thus issued a series of ordinances,proclamations on land acquisition with payment of rentals and compensation covering partial pre-treaty and post-yreaty period as well,which could be summed up as"military necessity,compulsory condemnation,indefinite use,low rental leasement".However,since U.S.authority's unilateralism and high-hand moves throughout the process,these were faced with widespread resistance and protests among land owners.With the new project of lump sum payment for superficies,it triggered the joint demands of newly-established Quadripatite Conference as a union of the Federation of land association,GRI executive branch and legislature,which marked the land problems entered into a new phase.The Price Subcommittee Report trigged the Land Struggle all over the island.With the U.S.government involvement,USCAR has to modify its land policy with substantial increase rental to meet the requirement of landowners to achieve the implement of lumpsum payment program and maintain its bases in Okinawa.With the compromise reached between U.S.authority and land owners in late 1950s,the land issue gradually faded,while the Pre-Treaty Claims issue arises as a major trouble.Until the 1966,land owners' effort to get compensation get rewarded,the U.S.congress agreed to make an appropriation to cover this claims.Similarly,some part of military land restoration during pre-treaty periods became leftover,which provide opportunity for getting it into a bilateral topic in Okinawa Reversion negotiation.The verification of Okinwa Secret Deal and couse of is is the core of this dissertation.According to the archives,the claims issed proposed by Japan in December 1970 came to a deadlock until april of 1971,for U.S.'s official position is no financial burden during the reversion of Okinawa.Then Foreign Ministry Aichi initiatively made a suggestion that Japan would provide funds to cover the claims to break the ice.But is is not reached agreement until Aichi and Secretary Rogers' meeting in Paris 9 June 1971.According Aichi's instruction,Yoshino Bunroku initialed the Summation Discussion with Richard Sneider in June 12 on ex-gratia payments on restoration costs amounted to 4 million dollars.Thus the existente and validaty of this secret deal is cerified.Its making indicates the dilemma of Japan in balance with domestic pressure and diplomacy.As the follow-up,the Nishiyama Incident or FonOff Confidential Cables Leakage Incident come into the realm of domestic politics.The leakage of some confidential cables on negotiation by Mainichi Shimbun reported Nishiyama through MOFA official Hasumi by illegally copying makes the Sato Adiministration being cirticized and under great pressure.To avoid accountability,the government of Japan takes advantage of the affairs between Nishiyama and Hasumi as diversionary tactic,and successfully put Nishiyama into prison in the guilty of crime of leak and instigation.Although Nishiyama get new powerful witness and proof after 30 years,his suit still fails due to the judgement of Supreme Court by claiming absence of documents in official record.The Nishiyama Incident demonstrates that the overwhelming power of politican-bureaucracy system established by LDP is superior to the freedom of expression protected by the Constitution.In conclusion,taking the origin and subsequent issue of Oknawa Secret Deal as a whole,this dissertation reveals that basic features of U.S.-Japan realtions focused on Okianwa issue after World War II,i.e.from the seperation to the reversion of Okinawa to Japan,inequality remains the main theme of U.S.-Japan bilateral relations;under the postwar politic system heavily shaped by U.S.,Japanese policymakers frequently considers that U.S.-Japan bilateral relations and their political party's intereat should weigh over the responsibility of the Nationals.