In 1995, an Okinawan schoolgirl was brutally raped by several U.S.
servicemen. The incident triggered a chain of protests by women's
groups, teachers' associations, labor unions, reformist political
parties, and various grassroots organizations across Okinawa prefecture.
Reaction to the crime culminated in a rally attended by some 85,000
people, including business leaders and conservative politicians who had
seldom raised their voices against the U.S. military presence.
Using this event as a point of reference, Inoue explores how Okinawans
began to regard themselves less as a group of uniformly poor and
oppressed people and more as a confident, diverse, middle-class
citizenry embracing the ideals of democracy, human rights, and women's
equality. As this identity of resistance has grown, however, the
Japanese government has simultaneously worked to subvert it, pressuring
Okinawans to support a continued U.S. presence. Inoue traces these
developments as well, revealing the ways in which Tokyo has assisted the
United States in implementing a system of governance that continues to
expand through the full participation and cooperation of residents.
Inoue deftly connects local social concerns with the larger political
processes of the Japanese nation and the global strategies of the United
States. He critically engages social-movement literature along with
postmodern/structural/colonial discourses and popular currents and
themes in Okinawan and Japanese studies. Rich in historical and
ethnographical detail, this volume is a nuanced portrait of the impact
of Japanese colonialism, World War II, and U.S. military bases on the
formation of contemporary Okinawan identity.
