Japan gave the US official consent to bring nuclear weapons to Okinawa shortly before the 1969 bilateral accord, which led to the occupied island’s 1972 return to Japanese rule, according to a recently declassified US document.
The US memorandum of understanding, dated November 17,1969, shows that senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official Hiroto Tanaka told White House National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger that “the Japanese have no disagreement with the US” on bringing nuclear weapons to Okinawa on an emergency basis, The Japan Times reported.
Although it is well known that Japan and the US reached a secret deal on nuclear weapons in exchange for Okinawa’s reversion, the declassified document proves for the first time that Tokyo delivered its stance using an official diplomatic channel.
However, the US document shows that talks between Tanaka and Kissinger took place several days after Prime Minister Eisuke Sato and US President Richard Nixon reached their secret deal to allow the introduction of nuclear arms to Okinawa, and just two days before the summit that led to Okinawa’s reversion.
According to the Japan Times, Japanese Foreign Minister Kiichi Aichi and the rest of the ministry had been unaware of the secret deal, and apparently feared a breakdown in the reversion talks. Thus, the ministry found it necessary to make clear that Tokyo was willing to comply with the US demand.
