VOX POPULI: But for the war, Okinawa would be a paradise

Pro golfer Ai Miyazato, 25, marked her fourth win of the season on the LPGA tour to become the world's top woman golfer. She is also the first Japanese golfer of either sex to make it to the top.

Her relaxed swing makes me think of the peaceful rhythm of life in Okinawa, where she was born. Perhaps it can be likened to the strumming of the sanshin, a three-string Okinawan instrument that I imagine being played languidly in the afternoon.

Miyazato was born and raised in Higashison village, in the northern part of Okinawa's main island. The reddish soil on which the village is built is not favorable for growing grains.

However, that curse turned out to be a blessing in disguise after the village became Japan's largest production center for pineapples. Apparently, Miyazato and her two older brothers honed their golfing skills on the red soil of a village playground. The languid pace of the southern island may be another factor that helped Miyazato become a great golfer.

Her father Masaru thinks the spirit of achan aisa (there's always tomorrow, in Okinawan dialect) cultivated his daughter's mental strength as a professional athlete, teaching her not to fret over scores. Okinawans are cheering unstintingly for Miyazato, who has proved she has world-class talent.

The subtropical region that fostered the world's top female golfer is also a tourist resource. If there were no U.S. military bases there, Okinawa would have been a paradise of nature and resorts.

But the harsh reality leaves no room for such dreamy thoughts. Wednesday marked the 65th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa. Okinawa was made a scapegoat in the defense of the Japanese mainland at a cost of 200,000 lives.

Sixty-five years later, the island still endures the deafening roar of U.S. military exercises. Plans to alleviate the burden of hosting U.S. military bases are back to square one with the latest Japan-U.S. agreement on the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma relocation issue.

Unless the prime minister builds strong ties with local residents and learns to "speak the same language" as Okinawans, the Futenma issue is unlikely to move forward.

Public interest in politics has now shifted to the Upper House election to be held in July. In Tuesday's debate between party leaders, little mention was made of the base issue.

The Okinawa Times ran a commentary by Chikako Ichihara, a poet from Miyakojima island in Okinawa Prefecture. "The Japan-U.S. joint declaration showed that Okinawa (Japan) is still under U.S. occupation. The postwar era persists," she wrote.

The only way to honor the war dead is for Japan to persist in negotiating with the United States.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 23

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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.