VOX POPULI: Put Okinawa's interests on par with the rest

With U.S. military bases occupying 60 percent of its area, the city of Koza (present-day Okinawa) was once said to epitomize all of Okinawa Prefecture. Chojo Oyama (1901-1999) served four four-year terms as mayor of Koza. I wrote about him in this column in January.

May 15 marked the 38th anniversary of the end of U.S. administration and the reversion of the islands of Okinawa to Japan. The occasion prompted me to reread "Okinawa Dokuritsu Sengen" (Declaration of Okinawan Independence), a book authored by Oyama late in his life.

The book is subtitled, "Yamato wa Kaerubeki Sokoku dewa Nakatta" (Japan was not the motherland to return to). Okinawa's reversion to Japan was a cause Oyama was deeply committed to, but the actual outcome brought him nothing but bitter disappointment.

U.S. bases remained in Okinawa and their personnel kept tormenting the locals with crimes and accidents. "When will they ever realize they've abused Okinawans enough?" Oyama wrote. He was already 95 at the time, but his words of recrimination were fiery.

Lording over the islands of Okinawa after World War II, the U.S. military robbed Okinawans of their land with "bayonets and bulldozers," meddled in their politics and swept vicious crimes by service personnel under the carpet.

The people's pent-up anger finally erupted in the Koza riot that broke out on Dec. 20, 1970.

About 5,000 citizens of Koza set fire to U.S. military facilities and more than 70 vehicles owned by American troops.

As mayor, Oyama knew his job was to cooperate with the military on mob control, but he understood the ire of the people all too well. He recalled in his book how he felt torn apart as he kept glaring at the conflagration that scorched the night sky.

Oyama was wont to say, "People (in mainland Japan) complain their Constitution was forced on them. But we in Okinawa didn't have the good fortune of having the Constitution forced on us."

Mainland Japan basked in peace and prosperity by "offering" Okinawa to the Americans. It was a sense of deep disappointment and mistrust of the central government that made the nonagenarian "declare" Okinawa's independence.

If Japan and the United States are to explore their respective national interests, now must be the time for them to include Okinawa in their thoughts. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama admits to being "naive and honest to a fault." I would like to continue to pin my hope on him.

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 16

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.