From the Spring 2012 issue of Rethinking Schools (vol.26 no. 3), this article by Moe Yonamine sheds light on the oft forgotten controversy that surrounds the Okinawan military bases that are part of the American military. Acting more as a repressive and neo-imperalist presence in Okinawa than liberators, the American military and their supporters within the Japanese government have made life uncomfortable and frustrating for many Okinawans to this day. Neither supporters of America or even Japan (the Okinawans are indigenous island folk that are not directly related to the Chinese and Korean settlers of prehistoric Japan), this article sheds light on the plight that the military bases not only cause for Okinawans but for all those who understand the price of war.
