anti-base protests in Okinawa

As regional tensions escalate, particularly concerning the Taiwan Strait, discussions of Okinawa often fall prey to reductionist narratives.

Unless corrective measures are made, and quickly, the anti-U.S. military base sentiment and movement in Okinawa will grow, damaging Japan-U.S. cooperation at a crucial time.

The Ministry of Defense plans to build a new training ground for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force in the central area of Okinawa's main island.

The Indo-Pacific’s increasingly unstable security environment will ensure that Okinawa remains at the center of Japan’s defense strategy. 

Even while Tokyo moves to bolster its defense capabilities, residents of Okinawa continue to protest the militarization of their homeland.

Civil society groups claim that the tiltrotor aircraft has had a significant impact on the local population's quality of life.

Resentment and frustration run deep in Okinawa because of the heavy U.S. presence and Tokyo's lack of efforts to negotiate with Washington.

Fifty years after Okinawa was returned to Japan’s control, locals continue to decry the outsized burden the island group carries in the Japan-U.S. security alliance.

The cancellation of the controversial missile defense program is seen as discrimination by Okinawans, who have long fought base construction on similar grounds.

Yet more delays for the controversial facility as local opposition continues unabated.

The prolonged showdown intensified as the contentious landfill construction hit a design plan snag.

Denny Tamaki’s opposition to the U.S. military presence in Okinawa adds a new chapter to the Futenma relocation dispute.