[1][2] In the riot, approximately 60 Americans and 27 Okinawans were injured, 80 cars were burned, and several buildings on Kadena Air Base were destroyed or heavily damaged.

[5] Around 1 o'clock that night, a car being driven by a drunk American serviceman hit a drunken Okinawan man, on a road near a major entertainment and red-light district in Koza (now called Okinawa City), a short distance from Kadena Air Force Base.

While the newly arrived MPs attempted to extricate their comrades from the situation, the crowd had the victim lie down where he'd been hit, and had him reenact the incident.

The rioters broke into, turned over, and torched over seventy cars, and continued to throw rocks and bottles, along with Molotov cocktails assembled in nearby homes, bars, restaurants, and other establishments.

About 500 rioters then broke the fence of Kadena Air Base, and razed the military employment building and the offices of the Stars and Stripes newspaper.

[4][13] A song on the eponymous debut album of the Okinawa-based electronic duo Ryukyu Underground is entitled "Koza Riot".