Update on Ryukyu Independence Movement

[Lux de Veritas]

大城浩 Oshiro Hiroshi, a candidate in the Okinawa governor election, advocates Ryukyu independence. He advocate a EU style union with Japan, Korea and Japan.

He want USA bases out and to be replaced by East Asian Union arm forces.

 

[cirr]

The Liuqiu Islands。

People（Ryukyuans）there still hold annual events grandly and ceromoniously welcoming the “imperial envoys” sent by the Chinese emperor。

 

[Lux de Veritas]

http://imadr.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/No.-10-world.pdf

Dr. Yasukatsu Matsushima, Professor of Ryukoku University

My love for Okinawa is boundless. Okinawa is my mabui (spirit) and my body. I was born on the island of Ishigaki and grew up on the islands of South Daitô, Yonaguni and Okinawa, among the peoples, cultures and the seas of these islands.

Okinawa became a subject of discrimination from the very moment it was incorporated into Japan, as it’s southernmost part. In 1609, Shôgun Tokugawa Iyeyasu permitted the feudal fief of Satsuma to attack the Ryûkyûs. After the rout, King Shô Nei of Ryûkyû was taken prisoner and forced to face Iyeyasu at Sumpu castle on his way to surrender in Edo. The Ryûkyû government was exhorted to send tributary missions to Edo and fulfill its tributary obligations to Japan. The mission was humiliated by being paraded in front of the population of Edo as foreigners in outlandish garb, accompanied by garish music.

In 1879, Japan subdued the Kingdom by military force, and demoted the kingdom to the Ryûkyû fief and the king to chief of the fiefdom, exiling him to Tôkyô. The Japanese government called this the “disposal of the Ryûkyûs”, and continues to use this discriminatory terminology in schoolbooks to this day. It is not justified to treat the conversion of the Japanese fiefs into prefectures on the same level as the independent kingdom of Ryûkyû, which had treaties not only with China, but also with Western powers and was internationally recognized as an independent state. The Ryûkyû government and people have never agreed to be part of Japan. No treaty transferring sovereignty to Japan is in existence. The annexation of the kingdom cannot be justified either on moral grounds or under international law. IT IS INVALID. Japan has divested the kingdom of its diplomatic, commercial and autonomous rights. Ryûkyû is entitled to demand their restoration.

After the takeover by Japan, the Ryûkyûans were subjected to forced assimilation, discrimination and exploitation. In education, the Japanese language was severely enforced. Japanese enterprises and Japanese businessmen ruled the island’s economy. In the 1920s, starvation - the so-called “Sago Palm Hell” - forced the population to migrate to other parts of Japan or abroad. Enduring discrimination was typified by an incident at Ôsaka Tenōji in the year 1903, when Okinawans were displayed to visitors of the 5th Industrial Exposition in cages, together with the original inhabitants of Taiwan (classified as ”savages”), Ainu, Koreans, Chinese, Javanese, and Indians etc. This incident engraved discrimination deeply into the hearts and memories of Okinawans.

At the time of the battle of Okinawa at the end of the Second World War, Okinawans of all ages were recruited for Japan’s “holy war”. Okinawans were killed by the Japanese military and driven into mass suicide. The Japanese government seeks to deny the forced mass suicides to this day. This is not a past that can be forgotten simply as “the past.” Instead of protecting the civilian population of Okinawa, the Japanese military often used them as human shields. The Japanese military only operated to protect Japan.

The 1952 San Francisco Peace Treaty divided Okinawa once more from Japan. In return, Japan gained independence. Okinawa belonged to no one and nobody protected her human rights. She was placed under the military dictatorship of the US Military High Commissioner. In order to build military bases, Okinawan lands were requisitioned.

If we cannot pin our hopes on Japan, there is no other way left for us but independence.

 

[Edison Chen]

Is it true that Ryukyuans are second tire citizens in JP?

 

[+4vsgorillas-Apebane]

The Okinawans were completely expendable during the U.S island hopping campaign and suffered rediculous losses.
Okinawans, Buraku and Ainu have it pretty bad.

 

[Aepsilons]

The Okinawans were completely expendable during the U.S island hopping campaign and suffered rediculous losses.
Okinawans, Buraku and Ainu have it pretty bad.

First of all, the war was a travesty for all sides; including the Japanese home island of Okinawa.

 

[Raphael]

There should be a referendum held to determine if Okinawans want US bases on their islands. People whose daughters, wives, sisters, and mothers have been raped non-stop by drunk (or even worse, sober), US soldiers deserve a say about their future.

 

[Aepsilons]

There should be a referendum held to determine if Okinawans want US bases on their islands. People whose daughters, wives, sisters, and mothers have been raped non-stop by drunk (or even worse, sober), US soldiers deserve a say about their future.

They have already been moved to the periphery of the island. A new base was recently built.

Okinawa marine base move signals strengthening of US-Japan ties | World news | The Guardian

There should be a referendum held to determine if Okinawans want US bases on their islands. People whose daughters, wives, sisters, and mothers have been raped non-stop by drunk (or even worse, sober), US soldiers deserve a say about their future.

There is a transparent and open judicial proceeding regarding American soldiers who are guilty of crimes on Japanese citizens. Confidence building measures such as these further strengthen Japanese and American interest(s) and ties.

Two U.S. servicemen imprisoned for rape in Japan - CNN.com

BBC News - Okinawa rape case: Japan court jails US sailors

2 US sailors sentenced to prison for rape of woman in Okinawa, Japan - World News

 

[Genesis]

I think I might be ok with giving the Diaoyu islands to the Okinawa people. As long as it's not in Ameri..... I mean Japanese hands, it's cool.

 

[Aepsilons]

I think I might be ok with giving the Diaoyu islands to the Okinawa people. As long as it's not in Ameri..... I mean Japanese hands, it's cool.

The Senkaku Islands are already being administered by Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force's Southern Command.

 

[Lux de Veritas]

Japanese anti-war protesters will converge on U.S. and Japanese military installations this weekend to mark the 42nd anniversary of Okinawa’s reversion from American control back to Japan.

Anti-war protesters start 3-day march to Okinawa military bases - Japan - Stripes

In Okinawa, the complex local politics that surround the U.S. basing presence have entered an uncertain new phase—one that threatens to derail the new security consensus held by Tokyo and Washington.

Second, though policy makers in Washington and Tokyo have assumed that rising anti-Chinese attitudes in Okinawa would automatically generate stronger support for the basing presence, countertrends are also observable. A now widely cited opinion poll commissioned by the regional government from 2013 found that while Okinawan residents, indeed, have adopted unfavorable views of China at or even higher than the rest of Japan, Okinawans also believe that there will be an East Asian conflict at more than double the rate of the national average. But only 10 percent of respondents believe that, in response, Japan's effective control over territories should be "reinforced," while two-thirds support that idea that Okinawa’s role in Japanese-Chinese relations should be to “pursue friendship.”

Okinawa: A Crack in the Pacific Pivot to Asia | The National Interest

 

[Aepsilons]

But only 10 percent of respondents believe that, in response, Japan's effective control over territories should be "reinforced," while two-thirds support that idea that Okinawa’s role in Japanese-Chinese relations should be to “pursue friendship.”

Of course, and this is complementary with the overall view of Japanese in the home islands -- in regards to China. It remains, despite political differences and issues of territory, quite favorable. There are no large protests in Japan calling for destruction of China or the like; we are largely neutral. In fact, it is against Japanese custom to express uninhibited emotionality as is common in some countries. As a private citizen of Japan, I believe that the overall general population towards China is positive. Besides some differences in terms of territory, we have no qualms with China. We have over 4,000 Japanese businesses operating in China and growing.

 

[iajj]

First of all, the war was a travesty for all sides; including the Japanese home island of Okinawa.

second of all, you are a pig for calling it a travesty for "all sides". jibennese war conduct was animalistic, but your bestiality gives you no right to pass judgment on how people treated you like the animals that you are.

third of all, you pigs got some nerve calling okinawa jiben home island after you treated okinawans like animals

 

[Aepsilons]

second of all, you are a pig for calling it a travesty for "all sides". jibennese war conduct was animalistic, but your bestiality gives you no right to pass judgment on how people treated you like the animals that you are.

third of all, you pigs got some nerve calling okinawa jiben home island after you treated okinawans like animals

Hello @iajj ,

I don't think we've interacted before, but let me greet you. Your post has a lot of negative energy in it, and I don't think it would be proper for me to respond with the same emotionality or negativity -- it simply is not in my character to do so-- especially towards someone who i have just 'met' online.

Now, to address the issue of Okinawa, well there has been a dynamic inclusion of Okinawa into the Bakufu prior to contacts with the west and the subsequent westernization of Japan during the reign of the Meiji Emperor. There has been a large migration of Okinawans into the home islands of Shokaku, Kyushu, Hokkaido and Honshu. That said, there has also been an extensive human migration from Honshu, Kyushu, Hokkaido and Shokaku into the Ryuku islands. Okinawa has largely been integrated into the Japanese national identity , the same as how Japanese of Ainu origin have been also integrated into the overall sense of Japanese national identity. I for one, who has Ainu ancestry, speak of this.

Of course it has been unfortunate that in the past there have been regionalistic tendencies. I myself, a native of Sapporo, have first hand experience of some of the 'elitist' mentality of people from Tokyo as well as Kyoto towards people who hail form other prefectures. But that is quite common in any country. The same in China. Beijingers or Shanghai-ers usually have an elitist mentality, too, compared to other Chinese who hail from more rural areas. The issue of discrimination is something that every nation should handle; and just as there are ethnic Uigyurs in Xinjiang clamoring for independence, Japan stands with China to maintain and uphold her national integrity -- we also hope , in elation, that our friends and partners in the People's Republic of China will do the same in our regards. As expressed in jubilation in the 1978 Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China. This manifests the ideal bond between Japan and the People's Republic of China.


Thank You.
Regards,
@Nihonjin1051

 

[TruthSeeker]

Powerful Typhoon Sweeps Across Okinawa
TOKYO — Jul 7, 2014, 10:18 PM ET
By ELAINE KURTENBACH Associated Press

A powerful typhoon pounded across the southern Japanese islands of Okinawa on Tuesday, as residents took refuge from destructive winds, towering waves and storm surges.

Airports closed and residents were evacuated from low-lying areas and shorelines as Typhoon Neoguri passed over Okinawa, packing sustained winds of 175 kilometers (108 miles) per hour and gusts up to 250 kph (154 mph), the Japan Meteorological Agency said. It said the storm could be one of the strongest to hit Japan in decades, generating waves up to 14 meters (46 feet) high.

"There is a risk of unprecedentedly strong winds and torrential rains. Please refrain from nonessential outdoor activities," Meteorological Agency official Satoshi Ebihara told reporters at a news conference.

The agency issued special warnings for violent winds, heavy rain and storm surges. The storm was moving slowly and diminishing in intensity, but its wide area and slow movement could add to the potential damage, weather forecasters said.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from shorelines and low-lying areas.

Television reports showed some downed branches. The national broadcaster NHK said one 83-year-old woman had suffered a head injury but otherwise there were no reports of serious damage. Some 22,100 homes in Okinawa were without electricity.

Government leaders held an emergency meeting Monday, urging urged local governments and residents to take maximum precautions. Authorities in China and Taiwan also warned ships to stay clear of the storm.

Forecasts show the storm tracking toward Kyushu island and then across Japan's main island of Honshu. It is forecast to lose more of its power over land, but winds and heavy rains could cause landslides and other damage, Ebihara warned.

The typhoon comes on the tail end of Japan's summer rainy season, and landslide warnings already are in effect for some areas due to those seasonal downpours.

The Philippines was spared from the ferocious winds of Neoguri, which blew closest to land late Monday when it roared about 480 kilometers (298 miles) east of the northernmost province of Batanes, government weather forecaster Gladys Saludes said.

While the typhoon did not make landfall, it intensified the southwest monsoon, dumping heavy rains to some western Philippine provinces, she said.

Powerful Typhoon Sweeps Across Okinawa - ABC News