I lived on Okinawa for 11 years, total. While I'll admit that the first two years, when I was an enlisted man in the Army, I didn't appreciate the place, the years I spent there as a contractor were some of my happiest.
It's a great place when given a chance. I'd love to have the opportunity/means to move back and even retire there. Sadly, I don't see that happening.
Japan gets a free ride on defense with the US paying
for most of it.
Japan’s recovered from WWII; so has Europe. It’s long past time for these nations to take up their own defense.