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EXPLAINER: Why frustration lingers in Okinawa 50 years later

FILE - An elderly woman prays in front of the Cornerstone of Peace monument walls on which the names of all those who lost their lives during the Battle of Okinawa, at the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman on Okinawa island, southern Japan, on June 23, 2015. Okinawa on Sunday, May 15, 2022, marks the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan on May 15, 1972, which ended 27 years of U.S. rule after one of the bloodiest battles of World War II was fought on the southern Japanese island. (Hiroko Harima/Kyodo News via AP, File) FILE - A military plane and helicopters are seen at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma behind a residential area in Ginowan, Okinawa prefecture, Japan, on Dec. 17, 2009. Okinawa on Sunday, May 15, 2022, marks the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan on May 15, 1972, which ended 27 years of U.S. rule after one of the bloodiest battles of World War II was fought on the southern Japanese island. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File) FILE - Relatives of victims of the Battle of Okinawa at the closing days of World War II touch the Cornerstone of Peace memorial in Itoman city on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, on June 23, 2005. Okinawa on Sunday, May 15, 2022, marks the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan on May 15, 1972, which ended 27 years of U.S. rule after one of the bloodiest battles of World War II was fought on the southern Japanese island. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File) FILE - F-15 jet fighters prepare to land during a flight training at Kadena Air Base on the Okinawa island, Japan, on June 26, 1996. Okinawa on Sunday, May 15, 2022, marks the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan on May 15, 1972, which ended 27 years of U.S. rule after one of the bloodiest battles of World War II was fought on the southern Japanese island. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, File) FILE - A participant in anti-war demonstration against the presence of U.S. military bases on Okinawa island helps her friend who fell on the ground after a scuffle with riot police in Tokyo on May 15, 1972. Okinawa on Sunday, May 15, 2022, marks the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan on May 15, 1972, which ended 27 years of U.S. rule after one of the bloodiest battles of World War II was fought on the southern Japanese island. (AP Photo/Sadayuki Mikami, File) FILE - Vehicles are driven on the right side of a street, under the control of the U.S., in Naha, Okinawa island, Japan, in 1971. Okinawa on Sunday, May 15, 2022, marks the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan on May 15, 1972, which ended 27 years of U.S. rule after one of the bloodiest battles of World War II was fought on the southern Japanese island. In 1978, six years after the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japan, the traffic direction was officially changed back to driving on the left-hand side of the street, to follow Japan's traffic rules. (AP Photo/Y. Jackson Ishizaki, File) FILE - Japan's student protesters stone at riot police, background, during an "Okinawa Day" demonstration against U.S. control over Okinawa and the U.S.-Japan security treaty, near Tokyo's Shimbashi railway station on April 28, 1969. Okinawa on Sunday, May 15, 2022, marks the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan on May 15, 1972, which ended 27 years of U.S. rule after one of the bloodiest battles of World War II was fought on the southern Japanese island. (AP Photo/Koichiro Morita, File) FILE - Troops check a native's hut for hidden Japanese during patrol in northern part of Okinawa, Japan, on July 22, 1945. Okinawa on Sunday, May 15, 2022, marks the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan on May 15, 1972, which ended 27 years of U.S. rule after one of the bloodiest battles of World War II was fought on the southern Japanese island. (AP Photo/Max Desfor, File) FILE - In this photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. invasion forces establish a beachhead on Okinawa island, about 350 miles from the Japanese mainland, on April 13, 1945. Okinawa on Sunday, May 15, 2022, marks the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan on May 15, 1972, which ended 27 years of U.S. rule after one of the bloodiest battles of World War II was fought on the southern Japanese island. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP, File) FILE - U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Mike Anglen of Turner, Ore., center, stands atop a cliff as Sgt. Bryan Wallace of Pikin, Ill., waits for his turn before their rappelling exercise at Jungle Warfare Training Center in Camp Gonsalves, northern Okinawa, Japan, on Feb. 8, 2002. Okinawa on Sunday, May 15, 2022, marks the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan on May 15, 1972, which ended 27 years of U.S. rule after one of the bloodiest battles of World War II was fought on the southern Japanese island. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa, File)