Okinawa and Asia in Transition: Economic Globalization and War Memory

Abstract

This article explores the importance of war memory in contemporary Okinawa from the perspective of global economic change and power shifts in 21st century Asia. On the one hand, U. S. Forces in Japan are excessively concentrated in contemporary Okinanwa; however, these are also accompanied by growing demands for reducing military bases and cancelling the construction of a new military base at Henoko, Oura Bay. On the other hand, Okinawaʼs economic growth has become dependent on the global Asian market, especially on tourism, the custom clearance and distribution sectors, and the local manufacturing industry. In such circumstances,more Asian tourists are visiting Okinawa; nevertheless, we have as yet been unable to find fully effective ways to mutually understand the deep wounds created by our past in history and memory. In this paper, first, the author illustrates how the recent economic globalization has altered Okinawaʼs “encounter” with other Asians through tourism and examines the gaps in Okinawaʼs war memory narratives, focusing on the narratives of Okinawa’s “Japan Army soldiers.” Second, it examines how Okinawan? Asian relations have been emphasized and described in contemporary Okinawan literature: Okamoto Keitokuʼs “The Guard”(1954) and Matayoshi Eikiʼs “Ginʼnemu Yashiki”(1980). Finally, the author indicates that the “wars in Asia” cannot yet be considered “bygones,” referring to the origins of the nuclear crisis in the Korean Peninsula and how the U.S. bases in Okinawa have been linked with it.