The timing of the reversion of Okinawa to Japan from U.S. control in 1972 was negotiated by Tokyo and Washington to encourage a smooth transition of power from then-Prime Minister Eisaku Sato to his intended successor, previously classified U.S. documents show.
While Washington initially proposed July 1 for the reversion, Japanese negotiators pushed for April 1 to reflect well on Takeo Fukuda, the foreign minister at the time, and allow him to succeed Sato, according to a secret cable sent from U.S. Ambassador Armin Meyer to U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers on Dec. 11, 1971.
"The sooner reversion takes place the sooner Sato will retire and the better Fukuda's chances for succession," Meyer wrote in the cable.