Comments on: Okinawans: Were they pushed, or did they jump?

By: Left Flank » Thy Sin Is Self-Indulgence

Left Flank » Thy Sin Is Self-Indulgence — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:43:52 +0000

[...] what Ampontan argues is still valid in a similar context regarding Imperial Japanese wartime behavior, regardless of one’s opinion about [...]

By: ampontan

ampontan — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 06:07:36 +0000

Thanks Aceface. Unfortunately, the links to both the J and E message boards don’t seem to be working anymore.

The author of the site had this to say:

“Worked in the Middle East, the South East Asia and Balkan to help (a little) a nation rebuild itself anew after a ethnic conflict or a civil war. Concluded “an independence is not too difficult” from the experience.”

I think he came to the wrong conclusion (g).

Thanks too, Tomojiro. I liked this sentence by the blogger:

きちんと現地に密着した独自の視点から中身のある取材記事を書ける人は数少ない

He was talking about China, but the same is true for Japan.

By: Aceface

Aceface — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 04:45:58 +0000

I think it was here.
http://www.geocities.co.jp/WallStreet/2325/chika.html

By the way,Bill that survey was conducted by a Hong Konger professor of Univ Ryukyu.

By: tomojiro

tomojiro — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 04:22:52 +0000

“Chinese think Okinawa should be independent?”

Many Chinese (some in the millitary included) believe actually that Ryukyu island is (should) be part of China.

The book by the Japanese journalist Tomisaka satoshi has a part in which he explains about this quite popular hold belief inside China.
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/kaikaji/20070521

By: ampontan

ampontan — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 03:50:50 +0000

Aceface: The reason nothing came of his research is that fewer people are interested in independence, particularly younger people.

You might not have read this post. The info is in the second half.

http://ampontan.wordpress.com/2007/02/01/young-okinawa-moving-toward-not-away-from-japan/

Chinese think Okinawa should be independent? We know what those posters would say if we suggested Taiwan should be recognized as an independent country.

BTW, I’d like to see that link for the Chinese and Ryall if you have it handy.

By: Aceface

Aceface — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 03:38:43 +0000

That reminds me of a guy from Aljajeela.I was looking the home page of Ryukyu Independence Party during the Governor election and within the English discussion board there were lots of Chinese leaving comment for supporting Okinawan independenceand there was this guy named Julian Ryall leaving a comment saying “I’m doing story on Okinawa and looking for some story on independence activist.Let me know if any of you know about them,radical and extreme are better”.

RIP is now run by a T-Shirt factory owner living in Chiba and basically a sort of joke and he is a strong supporter of holding the Senkakus as Okinawan territory.

I was really looking forward for what would come out from Ryall’s research(?)but it seemed there was no report on Okinawan independence related story on Aljajeera as I see their English webpages.

By: tomojiro

tomojiro — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 02:23:00 +0000

Of course, some western media will write about this as a resistance against the rising “ultra nationalism” in Japan, and I suspect Norimitsu Onishi is preparing a piece in which he is comparing contemporary political situation in Japan with Weimar republic.

Maybe Aso is the “Hitler” of Japan in his piece.

By: Aceface

Aceface — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 23:42:33 +0000

Oe Kenzaburo:
A far-left intellectual?Not really,he is a modest Japanese liberal.He had been criticized by many radical journalists and critics like Honda Katsuichi本多勝一(Over anti-Vietnam war movement)and Takenaka Rou竹中労(over his book “Okinawa Note”) as “too elitist”or”too soft”.

Oe did meet Mao along with the other members of Japanese writers visiting China led by Noma Hiroshi in the early 60’s.But he had protested China’s nuclear test in 1964 and hadn’t been to China until very recently.So he was not a Maoist nor fellow traveler like others.

As for Susan Sontag,she criticized Oe for being “too naive”in opposing military intervention to stop ethnic cleanigng in Bosnia in their correspondence over Asahi Shimbun.So it may not be fair to her to add her name along with Chomsky and Oe.

I was in Tokashiki last month,So I was interested how this issue would be treated by the local community,especially that now you have new testimony from ex-Ryukyu government official that Captain Akamtsu had never issued any order of suicide to the Tokashiki islanders.but as I see the mass rally and the reaction of MoE,this case has become another example of ideology and emotionalism overcomes the fact in historical representation like confortwomen.

By: Transpacifica » A Textbook Demonstration ... In Japan by Graham Webster

Transpacifica » A Textbook Demonstration ... In Japan by Graham Webster — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 09:12:01 +0000

[...] has explored it at some length and his post includes background on the battle over the specific passages and [...]

By: Overthinker

Overthinker — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 05:45:02 +0000

I don’t think your idea is “hopelessly American” so much as “hopelessly modern” – I can’t think of too many Japanese these days who would do it either. The social and psychological manipulation in WW2 to create Death Before Dishonour is definitely not a uniquely Japanese idea, after all – doesn’t New Hampshire’s State Motto say the same sort of thing, after all?

The quote from the late Mr Toyama I posted does indeed say they were given two – one to throw at the enemy and one to blow themselves up, but I definitely think I would have dropped both and run like hell (that is, without killing the soldier either – just get the hell out of there). Although when the army wasn’t looking, as they’d probably shoot me….