This agreement formally returned Okinawa Prefecture to Japanese sovereignty after decades of U.S. administration following World War II.
Key Facts
- Signing date
- June 17, 1971
- Signing locations
- Washington, DC and Tokyo (simultaneous)
- U.S. signatory
- William P. Rogers, on behalf of President Richard Nixon
- Japanese signatory
- Kiichi Aichi, on behalf of PM Eisaku Satō
- Ratified by National Diet
- November 24, 1971
- Agreement took effect
- 1972
By the Numbers
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following World War II, the United States obtained administrative rights over Okinawa under Article III of the Treaty of San Francisco. Over subsequent decades, Japanese governments and Okinawan residents pressed for reversion to Japanese sovereignty, and diplomatic negotiations between Japan and the U.S. eventually produced the conditions for an agreement.
On June 17, 1971, the United States and Japan simultaneously signed the Okinawa Reversion Agreement in Washington, DC, and Tokyo. The U.S. agreed to relinquish all rights and interests under Article III of the Treaty of San Francisco, returning Okinawa Prefecture to Japan. The document was signed by Secretary of State William P. Rogers and Japanese Foreign Minister Kiichi Aichi.
The agreement was ratified by Japan's National Diet on November 24, 1971, and took effect in 1972, ending U.S. administrative control over Okinawa. The reversion restored Japanese sovereignty over the prefecture, concluding a major post-war territorial arrangement that had persisted for more than two decades.
Political Outcome
Okinawa Prefecture was returned to Japanese sovereignty, ending U.S. administration under the Treaty of San Francisco.
Okinawa administered by the United States under Article III of the Treaty of San Francisco
Okinawa returned to full Japanese sovereignty effective 1972