Reversion Era Movements for Okinawan Local Autonomy

• In Event: Okinawa’s Postwar: Crossing the Boundaries of State, Sovereignty, Race, and Identity

Abstract

In the context of the U.S.-Japan security arrangement, Okinawan sovereignty continues to be particularly constrained, causing a range of debates about alternative political structures for Okinawa to emerge in the context of larger debates surrounding the question of jichi, or local autonomy. This presentation will delve into the history of the push for jichi in Okinawa around the time of the 1972 Reversion of administrative control from the U.S. to Japan, and explore its implications for sovereignty and democracy in Okinawa.

In contrast to those who have pushed for dokuritsu, or an independent nation-state, and those who promoted hanfukkiron, or theories against reversion which rejected statism, this presentation will analyze a number of Reversion-era Okinawan initiatives and how they suggested alternative forms of governance inside of but at the same time challenging the Japanese state. In contrast to those who believe that the reversion movement was a political trend based solely on an assessment that Okinawans wanted to be recognized as Japanese, these proposals not only describe Okinawan disapproval of the post-reversion continuance of the U.S. military bases, but also highlight the uniquely heightened ethnic and rights consciousness that imagined alternative possibilities for Okinawa during the Reversion process, and which has been a continuing legacy of Okinawans in the post-war period. In conclusion, this presentation will close by showing how, in contrast to trends in mainland Japan, the movement for local autonomy in Okinawa remains singularly constrained, and yet continues to persist and inform a lively debate today.

Author

• Ryan Masaaki Yokota, University of Chicago