The ''Special Action Committee on Okinawa'' (SACO ) is a formal agreement made between the United States Government and the Government of Japan. The U.S. and the Japanese government established the SACO agreement in November 1995. About 75% of land area of exclusive-use U.S. military installations in Japan exist on the island of

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. The Agreement was brought on by a political uprising that escalated when an Okinawan schoolgirl was abducted and raped by three U.S. servicemen in September 1995. The agreement's purpose was to reduce the impact of the U.S. military presence on the people of Okinawa. The SACO developed recommendations to realign, consolidate, and reduce U.S. facilities and adjust operational procedures. In December 1996, the United States agreed to return 21% (about ) of the land in Okinawa from 11 U.S. military installations. The final report of the SACO outlines the requirements of returning land, adjusting training and operational procedures, implementing noise abatement procedures, and changing the

Status of Forces Agreement A status of forces agreement (SOFA) is an agreement between a host country and a foreign nation stationing military forces in that country. SOFAs are often included, along with other types of military agreements, as part of a comprehensive security ...

(SOFA) procedures.

Land to be returned

MCAS Futenma is a United States Marine Corps base located in Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan, northeast of Naha, on the island of Okinawa. It is home to approximately 3,000 Marines of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and other units, and has been a U.S. military air ...

*About 9,900 acres (40 km²) of the Northern Training Area (

Camp Gonsalves Camp Gonsalves is a United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine Corps jungle warfare training area located in northern Okinawa, Japan, across the villages of Kunigami, Okinawa, Kunigami and Higashi, Okinawa, Higashi. Established in 1958, it is the l ...

) * Aha Training Area * Gimbaru Training Area * Sobe Communications Site *

Yomitan Auxiliary Airfield Yontan Airfield (also known as Yomitan Auxiliary Airfield) is a former military airfield located near Yomitan Village on the west coast of Okinawa. It was closed in July 1996 and turned over to the Japanese government in December 2006. Today it i ...

*Most of

Camp Kuwae Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

(

Camp Lester Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

) * Senaha Communications Station *Small portion of the Makiminato Service Area * Naha Port *Housing Consolidation on Camps Kuwae (

) and Zukeran ( Camp Foster)

External links

SACO Final Report (U.S. Department of State)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Special Action Committee On Okinawa Military installations of the United States in Japan Japan–United States military relations United States Armed Forces in Okinawa Prefecture