1. Enactment of the regulation of the inhabitants voting

Taking advantage of the upsurge of public sentiment like inhabitants all action meetings and revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement, Okinawa Trade Union Confederation presented Okinawa Prefectural Government a bill of inhabitant voting regulations about arranging and reducing of bases and revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement on February 15th, 1996.
After that, the governor presented this to prefectural assembly special meeting. And on opposition of the June 21st this bill passed the first inhabitant voting in Japan in spite of the Liberal Democratic Party, the party in power.

2. The course of the inhabitants voting

Prefectural Government set up the voting day on September 8th, because they expected Supreme Court's judgement of the lawsuit of signing in proxy would be in mid-September or late September.
However, the Supreme Court passed judgement against the government on August 28th, one day before the announcement of the inhabitants voting. The judgement was made exceptionally in a short time.
The Liberal Democratic Party, the party in power, announced to appeal to the inhabitants for abstention from voting because action of enlightenment by Okinawa Prefectural Government about the inhabitants voting was restrainting the inhabitants' free will. But they offended the public sentiment, and they changed their attitude that they recommended abstention, however they wouldn't.

High school students that appealed voting

Credit: Okinawa Prefectural Government

One thing to be noted here is that, high school students started a campaign. They thought bases problem was their future problem, and they held high school students(who do not have suffrage) voting and they appealed for voting on the street.

3. The Result and the government's response

Voting an old woman

Credit: Okinawa Prefectural Government

On September 8th, they held the inhabitants vote, about 59% people went voting, and 89.09% people voted for the regulations about arranging and reducing of bases and revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement. The governor said that this was an expression awareness that we couldn't make Okinawa in peace unless bases problem were solved.
Prime Minister Hashimoto expressed that he would take this result seriously and would do his best to solve bases problem.