Why are we in Okinawa?
A History of Violence
1st Edition
Published on 19. February 2026
288 pages
979-8-7651-5994-1 (ISBN)
Description
In this compelling history, award-winning journalist, Jon Mitchell, traces how the islands of Okinawa have been annexed by Japan, occupied by the United States and now menaced by China. In response, Okinawans have developed one of the world's most resilient - yet overlooked - pacifist movements.
Once a wealthy kingdom, Okinawa was seized by Japan in the late-19th century and, after World War II, abandoned to US colonial rule. For twenty-seven years, residents were denied civil and labor rights, but their non-violent resistance grew so strong that, in 1972, they forced the return of the islands to Japanese control.
Today, thirty-one US bases dominate a land mass smaller than Rhode Island and Okinawans remain Japan's poorest people. Tensions are rising as China questions Japan's control of Okinawa and fires missiles into nearby seas. Angry at being pawns in the play of greater powers, islanders resist through mass protests, music, comedy and art. Okinawa offers an inspirational model of grassroots democracy and civic engagement for the rest of Japan and beyond.
Once a wealthy kingdom, Okinawa was seized by Japan in the late-19th century and, after World War II, abandoned to US colonial rule. For twenty-seven years, residents were denied civil and labor rights, but their non-violent resistance grew so strong that, in 1972, they forced the return of the islands to Japanese control.
Today, thirty-one US bases dominate a land mass smaller than Rhode Island and Okinawans remain Japan's poorest people. Tensions are rising as China questions Japan's control of Okinawa and fires missiles into nearby seas. Angry at being pawns in the play of greater powers, islanders resist through mass protests, music, comedy and art. Okinawa offers an inspirational model of grassroots democracy and civic engagement for the rest of Japan and beyond.
More details
Series
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Illustrations
15 b&w images, 2 maps
ISBN-13
979-8-7651-5994-1 (9798765159941)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
approx. 02/2026
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
€31.50
Not yet published
Persons
Jon Mitchell is an award-winning investigative journalist based in Japan. An expert in the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), his scoops are often on TV news in Japan and featured in reports for the US Congress. Mitchell's first English book, Poisoning the Pacific: The US Military's Secret Dumping of Plutonium, Chemical Weapons, and Agent Orange (2021), was a winner in the Society of Environmental Journalists' annual awards. In 2023, he received Japan's most prestigious journalism prize, the Ishibashi Tanzan Memorial Journalism Award for public service.
Content
Foreword: Challenging the Projects of Empires
An Introduction
1. The Ryukyu Kingdom: A Bridge of Nations
2. Disposal, Discrimination, and Diaspora
3. The Storm of Iron
4. Forgotten Island
5. Showcases of Democracy
6. The Vietnam War in Okinawa
7. Reversion
8. Broken Promises
9. Relieving the Burden
10. All Okinawa vs. Japan and the United States
11. Islands of Peace?
Coda: So Why Are We Really in Okinawa?
An Introduction
1. The Ryukyu Kingdom: A Bridge of Nations
2. Disposal, Discrimination, and Diaspora
3. The Storm of Iron
4. Forgotten Island
5. Showcases of Democracy
6. The Vietnam War in Okinawa
7. Reversion
8. Broken Promises
9. Relieving the Burden
10. All Okinawa vs. Japan and the United States
11. Islands of Peace?
Coda: So Why Are We Really in Okinawa?
