On this day in 1970, a spontaneous uprising against U.S. military occupation broke out in Koza, Okinawa, Japan after an American drunk driver struck a local pedestrian. Approximately 60 Americans and 27 Okinawans were injured, and dozens of cars with American license plates were torched.

Following Japan's defeat in World War II, the country was occupied by Allied forces and governed under martial law. While most of Japan regained its independence in April 1952, the Okinawa Prefecture was to remain under U.S. military occupation for another twenty years.

Prior to the events of December 20th, three Americans had been acquitted via court martial after striking and killing an Okinawa civilian. This incident fueled the growing discontent of Okinawans with the standard status of forces that exempted U.S. servicemen from Okinawan justice.

On December 20th, 1970, a drunk U.S. serviceman struck an Okinawan pedestrian in the city of Koza. A crowd quickly surrounded the car and the policemen who had arrived, demanding that this incident not also be swept under the rug.

When American MPs arrived and attempted to pull the driver away, the protest turned violent, with thousands gathering to try to prevent the driver from leaving. By the end of the night, dozens of cars with American license plates had been torched and approximately 60 Americans and 27 Okinawans had been injured.

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  • artificialset [she/her, fae/faer]
    ·
    11 months ago

    was told the restaurant we're having a company lunch at for a manager leaving has "salads you can modify to make vegan"

    yeah I'm skipping that shit haha

    like I wanna see a whole table of people eating flesh anyway

    • hexaflexagonbear [he/him]
      ·
      11 months ago

      The only thing more humiliating than being offered either salad or fries is when even those aren't vegan lmao

      • Comp4 [she/her]
        ·
        11 months ago

        I dont think I ever had non vegan fries ? At least unless im missing something.

    • rtstragedy [fae/faer, she/her]
      ·
      11 months ago

      we had a christmas party at my company at a japanese steakhouse and i wanted to see everyone so when I saw "tofu steak" on the menu i thought it was perfect...

      when we got there, they were out of tofu, so dinner was just vegetables. not only that, i'm pretty sure they put a bunch of butter on it... i didn't want to make a scene.

      i'll probably skip next time