 Japan and the United States are both responsible for the colonial status of Okinawa - used first as a trade negotiator with China, later as a place to fight battles or establish military bases.After the 1972 return to Japan, the government economic plans to narrow the gap between Japanese and Okinawans were opportunistically abused by the Japanese enterprises of construction, tourism, and media which restricted living space on the island, and many Okinawans continue to work as seasonal workers, with low wages while women were overworked and underpaid.Dependent on the development plan, they were threatened with decrease of financial support if they expressed opposition to the military bases (which occurred in 1997 under Governor Masahide Ōta, and in 2014 as a result of Governor Takeshi Onaga's policies).