Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2011
Okinawa is a beautiful place, but is sadly beset with problems. Highest in profile is the issue of the US military bases, scourge of successive Prime Ministers, which continues to hang over the islands and the Diet with no resolution in sight. Economically, Okinawa remains the poorest prefecture in Japan, with an unemployment rate far above that of the mainland, and an inordinate dependence on domestic tourism. Indeed, its renowned artisan potters of Tsuboya are reduced to churning out novelty Shisa lions for the endless parade of visitors from the mainland, who treat Okinawa as the theme park it’s increasingly coming to resemble, as the proud and distinct Ryukyu culture is Disneyfied for their entertainment.
The saddest thing is, none of these problems are of Okinawa’s own making. The bases are there as part of an agreement made with the USA after Okinawa was finally returned to Japanese rule in 1972, following its capture in 1945. Meanwhile, Tokyo has done nothing to help Okinawa build a viable local economy, allowing it instead to remain reliant on handouts and tourist revenue. In fact, Okinawa has always received the short end of the stick from Japan ever since it was annexed in the 1870s by the Meiji government—which promptly set about crushing Ryukyu history, language and identity. If anything, after the way the Japanese military abused and abandoned the Okinawan people during the Pacific war, being under American rule must have come as a relief.
To these problems, I have a solution. It’s a bit radical, but will have a lot of benefits for Okinawa, with some added benefits for Japan as a whole—that is, for the remainder of Japan—because my solution is independence.
The advantages for an independent Okinawan nation would be manifold. Free of Tokyo’s puppyish thralldom to the USA, a Naha government would be able to re-negotiate on its own terms over the US bases, but taking Okinawan opinion into account rather than riding over it roughshod. And if the USA were to choose to relocate the bases, then Okinawa would get back 15% of its land, which could be used for, say, farming. Equally, with no need to indulge the Sinophobia of an ageing and increasingly conservative mainland electorate, Okinawa would be free to set its own visa regulations. A steady stream of visitors from China would provide plenty of income, which would remain in the islands instead of disappearing off to line bureaucrats’ pockets on the mainland. Along with the continued revenue from Japanese tourists, this could be used by Naha to develop its fledgling economy by investing in infrastructure and industry.
There would also be benefits for the new, streamlined Japan. Straight away, Prime Ministers would be relieved of having to worry about the US bases (unless, of course, they were to be relocated elsewhere in Japan). The budget would benefit from not having to make the payments needed to keep the bases in Okinawa, and visiting Okinawans would significantly increase the number of foreign tourists coming to Japan. Japanese people would immediately become more internationalized, with many more traveling overseas for their summer vacations.
Naturally, such a plan would have its opponents, probably among conservative mainland politicians. They would doubtless raise the specter of an immediate Chinese invasion if the bases were to be relocated, without being able to convincingly explain why on earth China would want to do such a thing. Then they would bang on about the integrity of the Japanese nation, overlooking the facts that Okinawa was invaded in the first place, has only been part of Japan since the 1870s, and has effectively been on loan to the USA since the end of the war. Yet if Okinawa were to secede, all these erroneous objections would fade into irrelevance.
So there you have it. It’s good for Okinawa, it’s good for Japan. It might cause some inconvenience for the USA—but shoganai on that one. Independence for Okinawa!
