In recent years, the primary source of conflict in the US-Japanese military alliance has been local resistance to the stationing of US soldiers on the Japanese island of Okinawa. The opposition is prompted partially by the impacts of US military installations’ existence and widespread outrage over US troops’ atrocities perpetrated against Japanese residents. However, McCormack and Norimatsu expose the resentment’s deeper historical origins.
Okinawans consider themselves an ethnic community, historically distinct and geographically remote from the Japanese. Japan seized control of the Okinawan chain of islands in the late 1800s and subsequently compelled its population to endure severe hardships throughout World War II. From 1945 until 1972, the area was an American military colony with no self-rule. Most Okinawans felt that even though the United States returned the islands to Japanese sovereignty, Japan sacrificed its interests for Tokyo’s connection with Washington.
Evidence of abuse includes the Japanese government’s inability to acknowledge and encourage culture and heritage and accessibility to formal schooling among Okinawan tribes, violating United Nations criteria. In 1945, the Japanese government pressured the Okinawan people to abandon their culture to be considered “Japanese.” In 1945, Japanese Emperor Hirohito gave Okinawa’s territory to the United States in exchange for immunity from prosecution as a war criminal.
The bigger context for McCormack and Norimatsu’s study is their highly worded critique of the US-Japanese alliance. They argue that the alliance does not protect Japan and Okinawa community but serves as a US forward deployment policy directed at Southeast Asia and China. To date, the Okinawan tribe has been subjected to massive abuses of their rights and liberties by their government. The Japanese government has established military bases and deployed the Japanese military to quash any Okinawan rebellion. As a result, it is critical and accountable for the Japanese government to prioritize and respect Okinawans’ rights and freedom above individual goals and international ties.