Okinawan Activism

Abstract Okinawan activism generally refers to social movements organized by a multitude of people in Okinawa since the early 1950s. From parliamentary debates, lobbying, and mass rallies to direct actions on the streets, the forms of local activism have varied depending on the aims and issues. Yet, the overall consensus is that it is an activism to redress social injustices inflicted upon the local population due to Okinawa’s subordinated status under the US-Japan security alliance after the Second World War. The dense concentration of US military bases on Okinawa Island and its adjacent islands is seen as emblematic of structural discrimination against the locals, leaving Japan’s southernmost region with a status equivalent to one of the United States’ overseas military colonies. Yet, the purview of “Okinawan activism” is not limited solely to antibase activism but also includes other civic activism on issues such as environmental pollution, women’s rights, land rights, indigenous rights, and so on. What this suggests is the involvement of varying agents and agencies in the making of “Okinawan activism.” The origin and development of local activism can be identified through three key periods, between the 1950s and the early 1970s, followed by the period between the mid-1970s and the early 1990s, and the period from the 1990s until the present.