Okinawa

Okinawa is one of prefecture in Southern area and consists of some islands. Culture of Okinawa is unique compared to the main island of Japan (we call Hondo it). All of the culture, lifestyle, food, music are very interesting for Japanese and very popular as sightseeing and resort. It is known as longevity.
Okinawa has complicated history. It was battlefield and people in Okinawa, even citizen, fought against American troop during World War Ⅱ and experienced a lot of tragedies. America occupied it after the war and it was returned to Japan at 1972.
Now some American troops are stationed there. People are annoyed with many problems of American bases. Noise of air force planes, criminal matters for American soldiers or cost for transference of base etc. About a week ago an American soldier was arrested as rape. Similar cases happened there a lot times in the past. It is a serious problem in Japan and the case is frequently reported by mass media in Japan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7256056.stm
American troops matter is controversial issue for all of Japanese, too. Japan must consider about our security guard and decide our principle. We choose to live under the umbrella of American troop or not.
Okinawa is surrounded beautiful blue sea. It is a paradise in Japan. On the other side, influence of the war still remains in spite of passing more than a half of a century after our defeat.