The Keystone of East Asia
Lying in the East China Sea with a population of 1.4 million people, Okinawa Prefecture hashistorically been Japanese territory, and the people are the same ethnically, culturally, andlinguistically. These facts are easily confirmed academically. In addition, Okinawa, like the otherprefectures of Japan, has enjoyed political stability, a high degree of democracy, and all the benefitsof freedom as a part of Japan. Furthermore, as a developed nation, Japan enjoys one of the highest
qualities of life in Asia.
Okinawa was previously a poor area with no industrial base, but its socio-economic situation
has greatly developed due to the special support given by the central government as a result ofJapan’s own economic development. Okinawa’s health care, education, welfare, and culture, backed
by Japan’s high standards of social infrastructure, make them world-class. The central government
has provided more than 11 trillion yen to Okinawa Prefecture in the years since its reversion to Japan,
and the government has previously pledged to continue this generous support in the future as well.
Okinawa’s population has doubled compared to the prewar, which symbolizes not only Okinawa’s
prosperity but the fact that Okinawa is a good place in which to live.
Despite these facts, deliberately incorrect information about Okinawa is being spreadinternationally. According to these sources, the people of Okinawa are being hurtfully discriminatedagainst by the central government. Moreover, the presence of American bases in Okinawa, as per theJapan-U.S. Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, is, according to these views, anoverwhelming and intolerable burden on the people of Okinawa. These assertions are fictitious anduntruthful, however, filled with political motivations.
I am a resident of Okinawa Prefecture, born and raised here. As a citizen of Japan, I am deeply
worried about the misleading information of Okinawa that is being spread internationally. This isbecause these wrong impressions lead to incorrect opinions internationally. These opinions could
lead to actions taken that will not be to Okinawa’s benefit, and could actually harm it. In the United
Nations of all places, it is imperative that correct information be relayed. The United Nations plays
an important role in international society, but if the United Nations works from mistaken
assumptions, it is in danger of losing its prestige and the trust toward it in the internationalcommunity. This would signify a deep loss for the world.
So let’s look at the facts, versus what the secessionists are saying. First is the propaganda thatthe residents of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, are actually an indigenous minority people. This is apolitically charged opinion held by a handful of individuals, and is not supported academically.
These individuals claim that the Ryukyu dialect, one of several dialects in the Japanese language, isits own language, but this, too, is not supported by linguistic studies. Falsely stating the structure of
the language is different—when in fact it is the same—is evidence that it is being done for political,
not learned, reasons.
Itokazu Keiko, an Upper House member of the National Parliament from Okinawa, stated at
the United Nations World Conference on Indigenous Rights and at the United Nations Human Rights
Council that the people of Okinawa Prefecture are an indigenous people, that the Japanese and U.S.
governments have forced the bases on the people, that they are experiencing persecution, etc., buthave not supported their assertions with any scholarly findings. One special characteristic is that her
claims are identical to the interests of China. Interestingly, although she claims to be interested in

protecting the rights of the people of Okinawa Prefecture, she does not protest when China militarilypressures Okinawa or violates its territorial waters. She is applying double standards, and appears tobe simply representing Chinese interests. It is not only her; the local newspapers in Okinawa, local
scholars and commentators share a stance that is anti-Japan, anti-U.S., and pro-China. Theirstatements tend to be completely lacking in fairness or balance, and often are lies and outrightfabrications. This tendency is particularly bad with regard to commentary about U.S. bases inOkinawa. The relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station to Camp Schwab being pursued by thetwo national governments at the request of local leaders is meant to remove the danger of an airfield
being located proximity to a city that has grown up around it, and will increase the safety of theresidents by moving near the coastline farther north in a sparsely populated area. In addition, manyof the U.S. facilities, both numerically and area-wise, are also destined to be returned, which shouldin theory be supported by the anti-base forces, but have actually been opposed, thus, paradoxically
preventing substantial land returns.
This contradiction exists because the real objective of the above individuals is to rid Okinawaof U.S. bases, in particular the U.S. Marine Corps. They become forced to tell a lie, as if they were“anti-war, peace activists,” when in fact their motives are deeper than that. This is clear by the factthat if they were truly interested in resolving the safety issue surrounding the air station than theywould support its relocation, but instead they misrepresent the relocation as the construction of a“new base” and thus oppose it. The relocation has been proceeding, but professional protesters havedone all they can to interfere with it. These activities go against Japanese law, and are illegal. The
protesters, therefore, who are subject to arrest, instead make charges of oppression by thegovernment acting extra-constitutionally or state other outright lies. They are able to get away withthese accusations due in part to having the full support of the local newspapers and mass media, as
well as the fact the local media essentially has sway over public debate of issues through its ability tocontrol the flow of information. In this sense, it is necessary for the international community toobjectively analyze the information that comes from Okinawa via the media. Alternative orconservative views, critical of the ideology and actions of the so-called peace movement, or insupport of the national government or U.S. bases, are not found in the newspapers, its commentaries,
or its editorials. The lack of balance and objectivity prevents a balanced discussion, and hence theonly information that is presented is warped and skewed, with the image being presented of Okinawa
as oppressed and abused when nothing further is the case. This occurs in part because thesecessionists are so determined to pursue their fundamentalist view of Okinawa as separate that they
fail to see the dangers presented by aligning themselves with Chinese territorial ambitions. What wesee happening today in the South China Sea will likely happen in the East China Sea as a result oftheir actions.
In this way, the problem that exists in Okinawa is essentially a fabrication by those possessing
an anti-Japan, anti-U.S. way of thinking. It is necessary to make clear that the idea of an indigenous
Ryukyu people or the description of the relocation of a base function to northern Okinawa as a “newU.S. base at Henoko,” discrimination against Okinawa, heavy burden of the bases, Okinawa’s rightto self-determination, and oppression by the central government are all, frankly, lies. This is an issue
that also affects the prestige and reliability of the United Nations. In this age, the progress intechnology has brought an end to demagoguery. This is something these secessionists, thesedemagogues, should be aware of. This is good news for international society, and matches theprinciples of the United Nations. The people of Okinawa Prefecture hope that the United Nations
and its other bodies have a true understanding of the situation in Okinawa, and not one presented by
the secessionists.