Ryukyu Underground - Koza Riot

Koza City, Okinawa
On December 20, 1970, a vehicle driven by an American soldier hit an Okinawan. The Military Police who rushed to the site paid no attention to the victim and tried to carry away the car to the base. Around 1,000 people surrounded them and protested. The frightened MP started fired warning shots. As the angry people closed in, the MPs ran away firing shots. The soldier responsible for the incident was beaten up. More and more people gathered and started burning the vehicles nearby such as army trucks, MP jeeps and cars with yellow plates that indicated the US ownership. Towards midnight, the crowd kept growing. One group burned police boxes while the other went to Kadena Base. They broke the gate and set fire on the filing cabinets and burned part of the new American Kadena Middle school. Armed soldiers fired tear gas. Helicopters also sprayed tear gas over the masses. This group was pushed outside by the armed soldiers while the other headed towards the U.S. headquarters. By dawn, they all dispersed. Some 80 cars were destroyed. 19 were arrested and many wounded. The police applied the crime of riot but could not prosecute anyone. They were charged with other crimes and punished. There was no damage recorded to persons or properties of Okinawa.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Ryukyu Underground
• Okinawa
• Koza Riot

[Bruceeeee1]

Hello, Great video. I was a Military Policeman involved in the Koza Riot. I pulled the G.I. and his Okinawan girl friend out of the crowd, which enraged them even more. We had agreed to allow the Okinawan police to remove the vehicle involved. It was history after that. That is my overturned Patrol car at 1:53 on the video. The riot helped hasten the Reversion process. I hope to revisit Okinawa this Dec 20, 2010. Ticket@aol.com

[AnOkinawanBoy]

@Bruceeeee1

thanks for the comment and your insight. It must have been quite intense to be there in the middle of it all. Make sure and revisit the Gate 2 area in December!

[onioni777]

okinawan , We had a chance to be the Protectorate of France during Ryukyu era .

But , China refused the offer from France ( that was the Cession of Ryukyu ).

France was , is better .

Unfortunately , ......(-_-)still the Colony of the most ugly war country .

[onioni777]

@UchinaPrincess

the Protectorate of France was , is better than the colony of the war country (U.S.A).

The U.S.A is the only country that has repeated the war since world Ⅱwar.

what a crazy country !

The U.S.A shouldn't talk about the human rights and Life.

How many people has America killed since world Ⅱwar?!

To sow the seed of the war all over the world is U.S.A ' s bussiness .

YAKUZA country (-_-)

[reconsrsr1phd]

My name is Rob Honzell, Sr., PhD and I was the patrol sgt. that night. If you read the offical rerport my namem is in there several times. No one ran away. The gun shots were used as a distraction technique to save American and Okinawan lives. People were attempting to burn others alive in their vehicles. Do your research.  Too much bias in your post. Interview people from both sides that were there.

Rob Honzell, Sr., PhD

[uzemljenje1]

Dobaaaaaaarrrr

[RobCardIV]

@rafique101 I would press the like button twice if I could.

[RobCardIV]

I was reading wiki about japanese language, something about Ryukyuan language, stoped to youtube 'ryukyu'. just interesting stuff. 

[RobCardIV]

@Bruceeeee1 WOW !! What an amazing story.

Wow at the power of youtube.

[uminchu7th]

They were enraged by the American presence and the crimes committed by the military... the riots were just a eruption of the boiling blood from the years of that occupation.

[Nick1921945]

im a little surprised that someone actually uploaded a few songs from this album. i have the CD but never got around to publicising it. i got it from my dad and ive always wanted others to hear it also. (cause i know it hasnt really gotten around as much as other albums have) Thanks SO MUCH for uploading this. seriously. i actually just found this just because i just searched it for the random chance thatt someone may have gotten the cd out there.

[Bruceeeee1]

@rafique101 I cannot agree with more. I try to spread the word here about Okinawa and the U.S. Military's need to leave. No one seems to listen. I said as much in the interview and the "Japan Times" article. Our governments still have that cold war mentality. I will keep up the fight here in hopes the U.S. Military will shrink its profile and footprint there in the coming years. The "Koza Riot was and is a big deal there. People here just don't understand.

[rafique101]

@Bruceeeee1 I apologize if I came off a bit provocative in my first and consequent posts. Thanks for serving our nation! haha but holy CRAP you guys are leaving us a HUGE mess that me and my generation will have to fix =D

[rafique101]

@Bruceeeee1 I think China and Japan can be friends and I think a middleman (US) in the region further complicates relationships. Our empire is falling and seems like the good ol donkeys and elephants driving the military industrial complex don't see their detriment to their OWN people (us here in the US ) and their own selves. Disgusting I say. And thanks for serving America when it was needed.