Why are we in Okinawa?: A History of Violence (Asian Voices) Hardcover – February 19, 2026

In this compelling history, award-winning journalist, Jon Mitchell, traces how the islands of Okinawa have been annexed by Japan, occupied by the United States and now menaced by China. In response, Okinawans have developed one of the world’s most resilient – yet overlooked – pacifist movements. Once a wealthy kingdom, Okinawa was seized by Japan in the late-19th century and, after World War II, abandoned to US colonial rule. For twenty-seven years, residents were denied civil and labor rights, but their non-violent resistance grew so strong that, in 1972, they forced the return of the islands to Japanese control. Today, thirty-one US bases dominate a land mass smaller than Rhode Island and Okinawans remain Japan’s poorest people. Tensions are rising as China questions Japan's control of Okinawa and fires missiles into nearby seas. Angry at being pawns in the play of greater powers, islanders resist through mass protests, music, comedy and art. Okinawa offers an inspirational model of grassroots democracy and civic engagement for the rest of Japan and beyond. Read more