Can the Unified Lines of Battle in Okinawa Be Extended?

Extract

Translators’ note: It is impossible not to be moved by the story of Itokazu Keiko's recent campaign for the House of Councilors. Her political awakening, rooted in her mother's horrific wartime experiences in the Battle of Okinawa, points to the continuing importance of the Pacific War in the Okinawan political imagination. However, this essay is much more than a consideration of the role of memory in political struggles. It draws attention to the failure of any single political party in contemporary Japan to adequately represent the interests of a majority of citizens. The hegemony of the Liberal Democratic Party has been replaced by a fragmented field of competing political organizations and efforts to form viable coalitions. The author argues that Okinawa's unique success in forging a coalition of reformist parties capable of challenging the primacy of the ruling conservative coalition of the Liberal Democratic and New Komei Parties demands attention. Unlike the pessimistic and essentializing conclusions of a national official of the Japanese Communist Party cited in the text, the author shows that this coalition cannot simply be attributed to the unique historical experience of the Okinawan people. Instead, coalitions are the result of careful, grounded and principled negotiations, and that they can be driven by the efforts of groups and movements outside of the conventional field of political parties. Social movements have once again provided the engine for political organization in Okinawa at a time when reform forces throughout much of Japan remain divided.