In March of 1954 the U.S. Civil Administration indicated it would issue land rents in one ten-year lump sum payment. In response to this, the elected legislature, in keeping with the will of the Okinawan residents, passed a resolution containing the "Four Principles of Land Protection." This was the start of island-wide protests.
The U.S. Civil Administration regarded the principles as unrealistic, ignored them, and continued their forcible expropriation of land. Increasingly resolute Okinawan resistance led the Government of the Ryukyus to dispatch a delegation in May 1955 to Washington to present the "Four Principles" directly to the American government. In response to the submission of the appeal from the delegation from Okinawa, a U.S. House of Representative committee dispatched a survey group headed by Senator Price to Okinawa.
The results of Senator Price's survey were presented to the U.S. Congress in the following year. It contained no mention of the Okinawan desire for reversion to Japan. It also contained details of the conditions of the U.S. rule in Okinawa and spoke of the desirability for a long term U.S. military presence in Okinawa. The report was a bitter disappointment to the Okinawans and throughout the islands groups gathered in protests. 1956 was the year when the "Island-wide Struggle" was ignited.
Toward these protests USCAR issued an off-limits order to military personnel forbidding their people access to civilian areas. This inflicted economic damage on Okinawa. As a result the Government of the Ryukyus recognized the use of land for the bases, the U.S. Civil Administration promised to award fair value for land use and the matter was finally settled.