#united states civil administration of the ryukyu islands

Just to keep things even more interesting in the East China/Philippine Seas than they are already are, let us hearken back to the days of the Ryukyu Kingdom - comprising the Ryukyu Islands that have been so deliciously attractive to a number of attentive empires…..the first to take an active hand being Japan, of course, and then the United States of America under a number of military post-war guises, before the islands were passed back to Japan in the early 1970s.  Which is not to say the United States of Americans don’t still spend a bunch of time there [Okinawa, of course], and also is not to say that there haven’t been calls for a secession and return to independent kingdom status…..

Stamp details:
Top left:
Issued on: July 1, 1948
From: Naha, United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands
MC #1

Top right:
Issued on: February 15, 1950
From: Naha, United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands
MC #15

Middle stamp:
Issued on: October 1, 1951
From: Naha, United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands
MC #21

Stamp on bottom:
Issued on: April 17, 1972
From: Naha, United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands
MC #256

Recognized as a sovereign state by the UN: No
Claimed by: State of Japan
Member of the Universal Postal Union: No