Recently we met with a delegation of mayors from Okinawa who came to the United States because the US is building a very large military base in Henoko that will destroy ecologically sensitive areas and that is not wanted by the people of Okinawa. Through opinion polls, the election of politicians who are opposed to the base and persistent nonviolent direct action, Okinawans are making it clear that they are not supportive of a continued US military presence there. With less than 1% of Japan’s land mass, Okinawa is home to 74% of the US military in Japan. We air a recorded interview with Mayor Susumu Inamine of Nago City in Okinawa where the Henoko Base is being built. Then we speak with Professor Steve Rabson who studies and writes about the situation in Okinawa.
Listen here:
Time for the US Military to Leave Okinawa with Mayor Susumu Inamine and Professor Steve Rabson by Clearingthefog on Mixcloud
Relevant books, articles and websites:
Nago Mayor Says US Bases “A Legacy of Misery” in Okinawa by Susan Miyagi Hamaker
Nago Mayor Remains Defiant Over Futenma Plan by Reiji Yoshida
Henoko and the US Military: A History of Dependence and Resistance by Steve Rabson
Nago Mayor Inamine’s Concise Guide to What’s Wrong with the Planned Marine Air Base
Guests:
Susumu Inamine is the mayor of Nago City in the Okinawa Prefecture. He has been a staunch opponent of the US’ plans to expand its military presence in Okinawa by building a new and large base in Henoko.
Steve Rabson is Professor Emeritus of East Asian Studies, Brown University. His books are Okinawa: Two Postwar Novellas (Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, 1989, reprinted 1996), Righteous Cause or Tragic Folly: Changing Views of War in Modern Japanese Poetry(Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 1998), Southern Exposure: Modern Japanese Literature from Okinawa, co-edited with Michael Molasky (University of Hawaii Press, 2000), The Okinawan Diaspora in Japan: Crossing the Borders Within (University of Hawaii Press, 2012) and Islands of Resistance: Japanese Literature from Okinawa, co-edited with Davinder Bhowmik (forthcoming from University of Hawaii Press, 2015). He was stationed in Okinawa as a U.S. Army draftee in 1967-68. He is an Asia-Pacific Journal Associate.