Charleston Gazette in Charleston, West Virginia

MacArthur says Okinawa islands key frontline against aggression

Gen Douglas MacArthur urged that Okinawa and the Ryukyus must be turned over to the United States as a strategic frontier to defend Japan against future aggression. He predicted a peace treaty with Japan could be written within a year to a year and a half, with reparations largely settled and frontiers restricted to four main islands. He outlined hopes for U.N. supervision and urged democratic, peaceful future for Asia while criticizing the Allied control council and stressing food and coal needs in postwar Japan.