[Tintin Storm]

After World War II, the Asia-Pacific region became one of the most important objects of US military-political expansion. The key role in the military presence of the United States in the region is occupied by Japan, in whose territory the bulk of the American bases in the APR are located. The legal basis of the bilateral security alliance was the agreements signed between Tokyo and Washington in the middle of the last century. Therefore, in 1951 the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the Security Treaty were signed, in 1952 the Administrative Agreement was signed. According to these treaties, "Japan granted the USA the right to deploy its ground, air, and naval forces on and near its territory."
As for the US armed forces, they were supposed to ensure the security of Japan itself and maintain "peace and stability" in the region as a whole. It can be said that thanks to these agreements, the United States placed Japan in a subordinate position and involved it in its aggressive plans.
In some places, particularly on the island of Okinawa, which is of great strategic importance for the United States in the region because of its proximity to the Korean Peninsula and China, the US bases cause many troubles. In addition, it was precisely the geographical position of Okinawa that helped the island to become one of the main outposts of the Pentagon in the Pacific Ocean and the creation of a whole network of military bases, training grounds and airfields there. To date, Okinawa, which has only 0.6% of Japanese territory, has 74% of US military facilities and more than half of the total American contingent in Japan. According to the prefectural administration, there are 25.8 thousand American servicemen and 19 thousand members of their families and US civilians on Okinawa.
Undoubtedly, the presence of American military bases has an impact on the lives of the local population, and they are the cause of economic backwardness, low living standards, the growth of crime in Okinawa and the reason for protest from the public in general.
The sharpest political conflict between the US military command and the Japanese population arose in 1995. The reason for this was the abuse of a 12-year-old schoolgirl from Okinawa by military personnel stationed at US bases on the island. The crime of the soldiers of the United States was the reason for the unprecedented wave of protest speeches from the Japanese peace-loving public against the American military presence in Okinawa. This movement was not limited to the territory of the prefecture, but covered the whole country as a whole.
According to the demonstrators, "the cause of all ills is the system of the Security Treaty, this agreement should be terminated, and the bases should disappear." The security treaty puts Japan, now claiming to be one of the leading states, in a humiliating position in the eyes of the world community. On its territory, foreign troops are stationed, whose presence not only offends the national dignity of the Japanese, but also serves as an unbearable burden for Japan.
In addition, the presence of American troops has an impact on the consciousness of the Japanese people, especially the younger generation, which is reflected in the formation of modern Japanese culture. Along with destruction and atomic bombs, the Americans brought their own language, cinema, literature, and music popular in those days to Japan jazz, funk, country, boogie-woogie. Several generations grew up during the American occupation, so the American entertainment mass culture, especially cinema, show business and jazz music influenced the formation of the tastes of young people.
Boys and girls with hair painted in the most incredible colors, dressed in exotic outfits, roam the streets of Tokyo. American programs are broadly broadcast on television, American films are shown everywhere, at concert venues, American jazz sounds in numerous bars.
For many years, “Americanization” was perceived by many in Japan as a symbol of spiritual dependence, which will eventually contribute to the denial by the Japanese people of their own culture and the loss of their national identity. "Americanization" has indeed spread not only in breadth, but also deeper, into consciousness, leading to a change in the norms of behavior and consumption, established ideas and orientations.
Thus, the presence of American troops in Japan has a great influence on the lives of the Japanese people. Local residents are subjected to violence, robbery by American soldiers, the American military presence has a negative impact on the economy and ecology of the region, there is an invasion of American culture and language into Japanese reality.