Why are we in Okinawa?: A History of Violence

by Jon Mitchell

In this compelling history of Japan's southernmost prefecture, Okinawa, award-winning journalist, Jon Mitchell, illustrates the long history of indigenous Okinawans; subjugation by Japan and the United States, and how they have responded with one of the most resilient pacifist movements on the planet.

Once the thriving Ryukyu Kingdom, an independent state which grew rich from maritime trade between China, Japan, and southeast Asia, the islands were annexed by Japan in the late-nineteenth century – then sacrificed in 1945 to delay an Allied assault on the mainland. After the war, Okinawa was abandoned to US colonial rule for 27 years, during which residents were denied civil, labour, and democratic rights. Responding to these injustices, Okinawans engaged in widespread non-violent resistance which paralleled the African American civil rights movement unfurling at the same time in the United States. Okinawan protests grew so strong that, in 1972, they forced the return of the islands to Japanese control. But despite residents' wishes, the US military presence remained largely unchanged, accompanied by crimes, accidents and damage to the environment.
Today, there are 31 US bases in Okinawa, which has a land mass half the size of Rhode Island, and Okinawans are the poorest people in Japan. In recent years, China has exacerbated tensions in the region, questioning Japan's control of Okinawa and dispatching ships to the disputed Senkaku Islands. Many Okinawans are angry at being pawns in the play of greater powers – whether Japan, the United States or China. Resistance continues to permeate Okinawan society, from mass protests and marches, to music, comedy and art. Okinawa offers a model of democratic participation and civic engagement for the rest of Japan and beyond.

Genres: Japan, Nonfiction, History

288 pages, Hardcover

First published February 19, 2026

About the author

Jon Mitchell is an investigative journalist based in Japan and recipient of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan's Freedom of the Press Lifetime Achievement Award. An expert in the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), his scoops often top the front pages and TV news in Japan – and they have featured in reports for the US Congress. Author of four acclaimed Japanese books about Okinawa, in 2021, Mitchell's first English book, Poisoning the Pacific: The US Military's Secret Dumping of Plutonium, Chemical Weapons, and Agent Orange, was a winner in the Society of Environmental Journalists' annual awards. In 2023, he received Japan’s most prestigious journalism prize, the Ishibashi Tanzan Memorial Journalism Award for public service.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars I lived on Okinawa in the years immediately prior to reversion. While I’ve read a few books on the Ryukyus (including slogging through Kerr’s History of an Island People), this one has best enabled me to understand Okinawan history from their perspective.

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has totally changed my view of Okinawa and the American Military presence that continues on the island to this day.

[Wesley Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting hearing more fresh news, especially since I lived there during some of it and heard none of it

[Cole Crystal · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

I would’ve liked more citations from Mitchell. The book was an otherwise splendid, appropriately meandering read on a niche topic.