Regionalizing the Local, Localizing the Region: The Okinawa Struggle and Place-Based Identity

Abstract

My PhD thesis examines the diverse concepts and manifestations of Okinawan identity that underlie the Okinawan anti-base movement or the so-called Okinawa struggle (or Okinawa tōsō in Japanese). Located between the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea, Japan’s southern-most prefecture, Okinawa, was once a stepping stone for Japan’s colonial expansion to Taiwan in the late 19th century. After the Battle of Okinawa from March to June 1945, Okinawa became a crucial defense line in the north-western Pacific for the United States and Japan in the latter half of the 20th century. The Okinawan anti-base movement, which started in the late 1940s, still continues today, almost seventy years on. Although its core demands are for the removal of US bases from Okinawan soil, many local residents see it in wider terms as a demand for the liberation of Okinawa from its subordinated status under the US-Japan security system. Explicit or implicit notions of “Okinawan identity” are therefore crucial to this movement.

While the notion of “Okinawan identity” appears to be a self-evident and homogenous concept based on culture, ethnicity, and historical experience, this understanding of identity obscures the complexity and dynamism of identity and community within the anti-base movement. Okinawan identity is not a fixed entity, and to understand its creation and evolution it is not sufficient to focus simply on the administrative territory labelled Okinawa. Through case studies of two recent strands in the anti-base movement, this thesis highlights the vital role of place in formation of discourses and practices of Okinawan identity. The case of the Takae Residents’ Society illuminates the importance of a localized sense of place, while the case of Okinawa Korea People’s Solidarity shows an emerging regionalized sense of place across the national boundaries. Applying recent theories on space, place and identity to these case studies, this thesis explores multi-leveled forms of identity—local, archipelagic and regional which the Okinawa struggle has created. This thesis thus seeks to challenge our understanding of the long and ongoing Okinawa struggle, and contributes to wider debates about identity and protest movements in the contemporary world.