Okinawa and Japan Odyssey
In its historical development, Okinawa has been under the influence of great powers such as Japan, China or the United States, but the most marked changes in direction have been caused by Japan at a time when, having overcome the internal division and concentrated its forces, it has energetically thrown outwards. The first such moment came in 1609, when the feudal Satsuma clan invaded the then independent kingdom of Ryūkyū. After unifying Japan under his rule, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598), who had in mind to conquer the entire Ming empire, had launched two attacks against the Korean peninsula at the end of the 16th century. The Satsuma Offensive, which put Ryūkyū into its orbit, falls within that historical cycle.
Among the reforms implemented as a result of the Meiji Restoration in the second half of the 19th century, was the abolition of the country's fiefs or lordships, establishing a system of prefectures (provinces) and strengthening the central power, which since then would try to create a sphere of influence that included the Korean peninsula, being the final dismantling of the kingdom of Ryūkyū and the establishment, in its place, of the prefecture of Okinawa, part of that process.
At the end of the Pacific War, when, in full retreat, Japan realized that it would be forced to fight in its own territory in the face of the unstoppable US advance and the people were harangued to sacrifice themselves for the country, the US army set its sights on on the main island of Okinawa as a bridgehead for the final takeover of Japan. The landing began at the end of March 1945. The fierce land battle that the Japanese and the Americans fought on the island caused enormous damage to the civilian population, of which one in four inhabitants perished, bringing disasters to the last corners of the island. of the "total war".
Okinawa after its return to Japan
Even after Japan regained its sovereignty after the war, Okinawa, a major fulcrum for US military strategy in the Far East, continued to remain under Washington's control and only came under Japanese administration in 1972, exactly half a century ago.
In Okinawa, those born that year are nicknamed fukkikko, or "return children," who are now turning 50. At that time, many other adaptation measures were still being taken, similar to the 730 campaign, to the new “Japanese” reality. At the same time, the provision of infrastructures was faced, a field in which, during the years of US administration, Okinawa had lagged far behind Japan.
The biggest claim, however, was the rebuilding of Shuri Castle, which had been reduced to rubble during the war. This budding reporter was tasked with going the streets collecting any information related to the historic castle. On the ruins of the castle, the Ryūkyū University had been built under the US military command, in the image and likeness of many other public universities in that country. Once inaugurated, it received the support of Michigan State University. The construction of Ryūkyū University is said to have been an American attempt to curry favor with Okinawans as part of Cold War strategy.
Once the university was transferred to another place, the castle began to be rebuilt. If the first was part of the North American strategy, now, on those same lands, the reconstruction of the symbol of the kingdom of Ryūkyū began to materialize with the support of the Government of Japan, leaving the surroundings converted into a state park. Shuri Hill is a magnificent example of the diversity of elements that make up the history of Okinawa.
1995, turning point
That year markeda before and after in the political environment. from Okinawa. That fall, three members of the US military kidnapped and raped a girl returning from shopping, sparking an explosion of outrage on the islands.
Similar crimes had already occurred in the pre-refoulement era, and in many of those cases Okinawans had to swallow their rage because of the preponderant role given to the armed forces under US administration.
“The governments of Tokyo and Washington take this fact as an unfortunate event perpetrated by some heartless members of the US military, but the people of Okinawa take it as one more tragedy of the many that have happened in these 50 years that have passed since the war. , and that will continue to happen as long as there are US military bases on the islands. There is a big difference between the degree of indignation caused in one case and the other, and in the very way of understanding the event”. These lines, a good testimony to the clear estrangement between Okinawans and the Government of Japan, appeared in the September 29, 1995 issue of the Okinawan newspaper Ryūkyū Shimpō.
For the protest acts on October 21 of that year, the organizers hoped to have the participation of about 50,000 people. 85,000 gathered (data from the organization). Thus, one in every 15 inhabitants of the Okinawa prefecture attended, in the largest concentration of protest held since the return to Japan
The fear of the perpetuation of the bases
The problem of the Okinawan bases became an important issue in Japanese national politics as a result of this crime, although the refusal of the then Okinawan governor, Ōta Masahide, to affix his signature on the document of renewal of the rental contracts for the land for the bases. Ōta feared the continuation of that situation, as the bases continued to occupy a large part of the island even after the end of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Many of the bases are on land requisitioned from their owners and, in order to avoid legal problems, a mechanism was established whereby, in the event that any of the owners of the land that was forcibly occupied refused to sign the rental contract, they would do so. in his place the governor (a later legal reform deprived the governor of this power). The refusal to sign implied that the contracts could not be renewed, thus opening the door to the possibility that the occupation of the land by the bases would be declared illegal. The governments of Japan and the United States were forced to react quickly to the emergency. But the problem was a sample of the progressive lack of interest that was felt towards Okinawa once its return had been achieved, and of the few efforts that had been made to reduce the military bases and to alleviate the burden that they implied for the settlers. The lack of interest took its toll that way.
From the agreement on the return of Futenma to the confrontation with the Government
In this situation, in April 1996, it was suddenly reported that the then Prime Minister of Japan, Hashimoto Ryūtarō, had reached an agreement with the United States Government for the return of the Futenma military base. The news also caused great surprise in Okinawa, since until now the possibility of returning said installation had never been discussed. It even gave the impression that both governments had finally put their hands to work to proceed with a serious reduction of the US military presence on the islands.
However, the agreement reached did not include concrete provisions on how Futenma's functions were to be replaced. At first it was assumed that the loss of these functions could be compensated for by heliports located within the existing bases in the prefecture. But soon there began to be talk of new temporary installations on new land reclaimed from the sea, and after plans to build a new military base on the coast of Henoko (Nago city, north of the island) which, in addition to being large, would be a permanent installation.
Verifying that the vaunted "return" of Futenma was actually going to consist of replacing it with a new military base that would also be located in Okinawa caused a reaction as strong as it was logical.
In 2009 the so-called Democratic Party managed to wrest the Government of Japan from Hashimoto's Liberal Democratic Party and the new prime minister, Hatoyama Yukio, announced his intention to get the new replacement base to be located "at least in another prefecture of Japan ”. But his intention could not materialize due to disagreements within his executive, for which he was forced to rectify.
Then, during the second term of Abe Shinzō, without Okinawa's approval, work began at sea, in a rarefied climate in which those who continued to oppose the government's plans were unfairly branded as "anti-Japanese". .
A mirror of the situation in the Asia-Pacific region
If we look back and look at Japan after the end of the Cold War, we see that the international environment in which it is framed presents more and more instability. On the one hand, there is the grave danger of a nuclearized North Korea. On the other, the tensions between China and Japan over the Senkaku Islands. In recent years we must also add the increasingly feared possibility of armed clashes between China and Taiwan.
For Japan to take a strong position to respond to all these challenges is, to some extent, perfectly logical. But it is very worrying that, while voices crying out for diplomacy, for efforts in favor of détente and dialogue, which is the true function that politics should have, are increasingly missing, it is precisely the politicians who to raise voices as "martial" as those who equate an attack on Taiwan's security with an attack on Japan.
If the country allowed itself to be carried away by the logic of national security and, under that banner, came to a situation in which unity and cohesion were demanded of the Japanese, there is no doubt that the most extreme consequences would be experienced in Okinawa. An emergency in the military field will not occur in the place where political decisions are cooked, Tokyo, but, in all probability, in Okinawa, which is the closest part to the Taiwan-China zone, and where the bases are concentrated. US military.
Although in Northeast Asia the existing mistrust between countries could cause friction at any time and trigger an arms race, this region of the world will be affected by demographic phenomena such as aging and the decrease in the productive part of the population, which suggests that the center of growth will move to South and Southeast Asia, that is, towards young Asia. No one would like future historians to say of the East Asian countries that they squandered the peak of their growth on fighting and on armaments.
Okinawa is a mirror reflecting the order of the Asia-Pacific region. He has suffered in the past. The antagonisms and wars between the great powers have inflicted great suffering on it, but in times of peace and prosperity it has also shown that it has much to offer and that it is an attractive place for its landscapes, culture and traditions. Hopefully we will be able to create, in these years that follow the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan and that are already leading us to the middle of the 21st century, a future for our region that allows Okinawa to shine with all its originality and character. And that we can say that Okinawa is a mirror, yes, but a mirror that reflects the stability and prosperity of an entire region.
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