In response to Okinawa's appeal "reversion without a military base" as well as "reversion without nuclear weapons", the Japanese government answered that Okinawa would be reversed as the same standard "as the mainland."

When the government used the phrase "the same as the mainland", Okinawa people did not understand what it meant, and they inderstood or at least tried to understand that the scale of military bases in Okinawa would be the same as in the mainland. Indeed, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs Japan mentioned that "the same standard as the mainland" included the scale of military bases.

However, the Government later overthrew the initial policy. They deployed the Self-Defence Forces in addition to the existing American bases. They indeed reduced the size of the military base a few%, but still 27850 ha. of land remained as the military base, which consisted 12% of Okinawa Prefecture, and more than 22% of Okinawa island. On the other hand, they reduced the two-thirds of the U.S. Military bases in the mainland. In short, the U.S. Military bases were simply concentrated in Okinawa.