小笠原群島（Ogasawara Islands）位於西太平洋，距離日本本土約1,000多公里，在行政區劃上隸屬於東京都管辖。該群島由30多個小島組成，其中面積較大的有父島、母島等島嶼。日本實際管辖領土最東的南鳥島，亦為該群島的一部分。2011年，小笠原群島因其「在陸上、淡水、沿海及海洋生態系統及動植物群的演化與發展上，代表持續進行中的生態學及生物學過程的顯著例子」而被列入聯合國教科文組織世界遺產名錄。第二次世界大戰晚期，美軍為確保轟炸日本本土的中繼點對小笠原群島展開積極攻擊。美國前總統喬治•布希（George H.W. Bush）駕駛的魚雷轟炸機曾被擊落於父島附近的海域，後為潛水艇救起，可謂九死一生。至於以戰鬥過程激烈、雙方犧牲慘重知名的硫磺島更是名留青史，近有《硫磺島的英雄們》、《來自硫磺島的信》等電影作品加以描述。1945年美國海軍佔領小笠原群島，戰後僅允許部分歐美裔島民返鄉。1952年舊金山和約生效。對於小笠原群島，日本同意美國交付聯合國實施託管的提議。而在該提案獲得通過前，美國則繼續對小笠原群島及所屬居民與所屬海域得實施行政、立法、司法之權利。就該時期的法律地位而言，小笠原群島與琉球群島並無相異。1967年11月，日本首相佐藤榮作（Eisaku Sato）與美國總統詹森（Lyndon Baines Johnson）舉行會談，隔年美日間締結「小笠原歸還協定」後，小笠原群島正式回歸日本。本論文預定以「戰後處置」的視角，討論「小笠原返還」的政治過程，進而與「沖繩返還」相比較，以明確東西冷戰背景下美國及日本的外交決策機制。

The Ogasawara Islands are located about 1,000 km from Japan in the Western Pacific and administratively governed by the prefecture of Tokyo. The archipelago consists of more than 30 small islands. Chichijima (Father Island) and Hahajima (Mother Island) are two main islands that cover relatively larger areas among the archipelago. Japan has actual jurisdiction over Minamitorishima (which is also a part of the archipelago) located in the eastern end of the territory. In 2011, the Ogasawara Islands were classified as UNESCO World Heritage Site as the islands serve as a representative and outstanding example of the ongoing ecological and biological evolutionary processes and development, which is evidenced by their flora and fauna and ecosystems of land, freshwater, coast, and ocean. During the late World War II, the United States armed forces attacked aggressively on the Ogasawara Islands to serve the purpose of bombarding the staging area of Japanese forces. A former president of the United States, George H. W. Bush, then a pilot, was flying a torpedo bomber and was shot down into the water surrounding Chichijima, subsequently escaping from death with a submarine’s rescue. As for Iwo Jima, known as the battlefield of severe battles where both parties suffered great losses, is remembered by the world. Movies in recent years, such as Flag of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, have devoted space to the description of the incidents that happened on this island. In 1945, the United States Navy occupied the Ogasawara Islands. Only some European and American residents on the Ogasawara Islands were permitted to return home after World War II. In 1952, the Treaty of Peace with Japan was signed. Japan concurred in the proposal raised by the United States that places the Ogasawara Islands under United Nations’ trusteeship system. Before the proposal was passed, the United States had the right to exercise powers of administration, legislation, and jurisdiction over the territory and inhabitants of these islands, including their territorial waters, which made the situation of the Ogasawara Islands similar to Ryukyu Islands in the sense of legal means utilized by the United States for occupation and ruling. In November 1967, a meeting was held between Eisaku Sato, the prime minister of Japan, and Lydon Baines Johnson, the president of the United States. The Ogasawara Reversion Agreement was concluded the next year between the United States and Japan, later followed by the official reversion of the Ogasawara Islands to Japan. This paper intends to use the perspective of post-war arrangement to discuss the political process of the Ogasawara Islands reversion, and in turn compare it with Okinawa’s reversion to Japan in order to clarify the foreign policy decision-making mechanism of the US and Japan in the context of The Cold War and confrontation between East and West.