Responding to the VICE Media
As a group of Okinawan scholars, artists, academics, and community members, we would like to voice our concerns with recently produced videos by VICE Media. The VICE videos titled (1) The Dark Truth of Japan's Paradise Island | Trouble in Paradise and (2) Japan's Stereotypes Against Amejo in Okinawa, exploit negative stereotypes of Okinawan people and unfairly place the blame for poverty, alcoholism, and gender issues on Okinawan people, ignoring the historical forces that initiated the suffering our people face today. These videos use sensationalism and harmful stereotypes of Okinawan people to mask the systemic violence and the still raw wounds of our history as colonized island peoples.
The VICE videos fail to provide a historical perspective, overlooking the dual colonialism of Okinawan people by Japan and the United States. Instead, the videos take a patronizing and paternalistic tone to draw unfair conclusions about Okinawan people. In short, the videos center narratives that suggest our culture IS the problem that (re)produces poverty, drinking problems, and gender issues. This is clearly racial gaslighting. In fact, the lone "expert" on Okinawan culture that was featured in these mini-documentaries is a male Japanese mainland business professor. Although his book, The Real Reason Why Poverty Persists in Okinawa, became popular in 2020, his analysis ignores the dual colonialism and structural discrimination. If the VICE team had conducted rigorous journalism, they should have come across more critical scholars. This type of media representation perpetuates oppression and structural violence, which reinforce poverty. Moreover, many of the interviewees in the documentary held extreme Japanese ultranationalistic views and are NOT representative of the general Okinawan population. We are asking for responsibility and accountability from the VICE team by addressing the harm caused by these videos and to uplift media coverage and dialogue of our island that makes clear the connection between intergenerational trauma and the dual colonialism of Japan and the US.
Dual Colonialism
With this letter, we hope to bring to VICE’s attention the ongoing scholarship, which is part of a longer tradition that recognizes the relationship, at any given time, between poverty in Okinawa and the particular economic development forced on Okinawa that has shaped it differently from other prefectures.
The poverty and the fragile economy of Okinawa are a result of historical events - not culture - including the Battle of Okinawa, the 27 years of US military occupation, the exclusion from the Japanese Constitution during US military occupation, and the continued presence of US military bases even after the transfer of administrative powers from the US military to the Japanese government. Okinawa’s history and relationship with the Japanese national government are different from other prefectures in Japan. Today, under the Okinawa Development Plan, the Japanese government continues to control economic development in Okinawa. It is only after the Japanese government first establishes a fundamental policy for Okinawa’s economic development that the Okinawan prefectural government is allowed to design Okinawa’s economic development plans - and even then, these plans must follow the policy designated by the Japanese government. This policy paternalistically regulates Okinawa's autonomy, weilding structural power over Okinawa's decision making process. In this way Okinawa is unlike other prefectures of Japan, with critical restrictions on their right to self-determination.
Indeed, the history of dual colonialism by the US and Japan should come to light when delving into historical and structural aspects of poverty in Okinawa. It is vital to recognize that Okinawa was once an independent kingdom known as Ryukyu. Japanese colonization began in 1609, and the kingdom was officially annexed in 1879. Since then, the Japanese government has forced assimilation on Okinawan people. Okinawan-ness, such as language, culture, and more has been negated and cast as undesirable in contemporary society. Colonization and assimilation have transformed Okinawans’ identity into a source of shame and stigma. These colonizing forces contribute to Indigenous communities experiencing high poverty rates and inequalities all over the world and in Okinawa as well. Moreover, in exploring the poverty issue of Okinawa, it is essential to address that the US and Japan force Okinawa, which accounts for only 0.6% of Japan’s territory, to carry the burden of hosting approximately 70.3% of US military bases in Japan.
Intergenerational Trauma
We, as Okinawans, still remember our people’s history and stories across generations. Studies show that trauma can be ingrained into DNA and passed down from one generation to the next. It is widely known that some people with trauma resort to drinking as a coping mechanism. Okinawa carries a number of traumas stemming from dual colonialism, and we believe a better examination of history might shed a different perspective on the issues of alcoholism portrayed in the VICE video. The Japanese government has forced assimilation on Okinawan people since 1879.
During WWII, when American soldiers landed on the Okinawan islands, in what was later known as the Battle of Okinawa, the Japanese military used Okinawa as a breakwater. They intentionally prolonged the fighting in Okinawa to lessen major assaults on the mainland of Japan. During this battle, 1 in 4 Okinawan civilians died. Before and during the Battle of Okinawa, Okinawans were taught that death was the correct choice, rather than be caught by US soldiers. Okinawan girls and women would be raped and killed while boys and men would be brutally tortured and killed, which led more than 700 civilians to commit individual or collective suicide (syūdan jiketsu).
Right after the Battle of Okinawa, the US military occupied Okinawa between 1945 and 1972. The US military took over Okinawa’s land and built bases, while civilians were housed in concentration camps. During the Korean War (1950-1953), the US military expanded their bases by forced land expropriation, which is known as the “bayonets and bulldozers (kenjyū to bulldozers).” During this occupation, many Okinawan civilians, including children, were victims of hit and run, robbery, rape, and other heinous crimes, while the offending US soldiers were seldom if ever fairly charged. The VICE videos mishandle and obscure the impact of such displacement, violence, and the resulting intergenerational trauma on the ensuing island-wide poverty.
Gender Issues
The topic of Amejo, a derogatory term for women in Okinawa who prefer to date American men, should have been carefully featured. The presence of the US military bases poses a great threat, particularly to women and children in Okinawa since women are regarded as “rewards” for male soldiers. Hence, the structural violence caused by Japan and the US must be taken into consideration when discussing gender issues in Okinawa, which the VICE video neglects to do. In general, rape cases are not reported because of victim blaming and stigma for survivors. In Okinawa, American soldiers hold systemic power in relation to Okinawan girls and women, because of pervasive American exceptionalism that portrays the US as if it were the paragon of democracy and freedom. However, the military’s focus is to dominate and conquer “inferior” groups of people, including women, nonbinary people, and Indigenous peoples. Nevertheless, without considering larger sociopolitical structures, the VICE video depicts “Amejo” through the Western male gaze, which reinforces Orientalism, paternalism, and misogyny. Simply put, they give an excuse for victim blaming and gaslighting.
Our Demands
We call first and foremost for responsibility and accountability from the VICE video team.
An ethical and moral response would be to take these videos down or to produce more accurate videos by understanding how inequalities in Okinawa are caused by the historical and ongoing colonialism mentioned above that continues to affect the political, economic, and social structures in Okinawa - Okinawans and their ways of living are not the origin of these problems, despite what the VICE videos suggest.
We have reached out to the VICE team and invited them to engage in an honest conversation. We have already conducted ourselves respectfully by giving the right of reply for ethical journalism. It should be noted that, in general, the issue of (mis)representation is omnipresent in the realm of mass media and journalism. As discussed above, Okinawan people carry a wide range of traumas and emotional wounds, and we are still marginalized and oppressed by the dual colonialism of Japan and the US. Continued misrepresentation causes a lot of harm to those with Okinawan ancestry. In fact, those who are exploring their roots, both in Okinawa and in the diaspora, internalize the negative messages that the VICE videos convey. The image that the VICE videos portray is that Okinawan culture IS the problem and Okinawa people ARE the ones responsible for poverty, drinking problems, and gender issues. Again, this is racial gaslighting. We are tired of being blamed, of being victimized, and of being exploited by the mass media. All of these acts dehumanize and consume Okinawan people.
We hope that this open letter can serve as a call for scholars, activists, journalists, and the media to consider their bias and its potentially harmful consequences when speaking on issues in Okinawa. We encourage the development of critical practices, methodologies, mentoring, and knowledge dissemination from a trauma informed, historically conscious perspective. We hope to foster collaboration across fields and build solidarity. We demand genuine engagement in our struggles by listening to us. We hope that members of the media are open to criticism from Okinawan community members and willing to engage in better reporting practices. We are all human beings who are imperfect and make mistakes, and we are all capable of learning from our mistakes. We ask any journalists or media to consult with a wide range of Okinawan people before publishing, as there are many Okinawan activists, scholars, journalists, and/or community members within and beyond Okinawa. We ask that journalists centralize our community’s knowledge and human agency (i.e., power to make social changes), such as focusing on the achievements and ongoing activism of our people. We encourage non-Okinawans to report with care and acknowledgment that we are still in the process of healing, decolonizing, and reclaiming our own ways of knowing and being in the world.
Respectfully,
Signatories
Risako Sakai (Uruku, Okinawa), PhD Candidate, Oregon State University
Nozomi Nakaganeku Saito (Urasoe, Okinawa), PhD Candidate, University of Pittsburgh
Sho Yamagushiku (Ogimi, Okinawa), Writer/Researcher, Victoria British Columbia
Tatsuki Kohatsu (Nishihara, Okinawa), PhD student, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Micah Mizukami (Nakagusuku, Okinawa), Associate Director, Center for Oral History, & PhD Student, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Mariko Middleton (Sashiki, Okinawa), Producer, Ichariba Choodee: Okinawan Voices and Stories, Montpelier, Vermont.
Akino Oshiro (Naha, Okinawa), PhD student, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Madoka Hammine, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Meio University
Claire Shimabukuro, Retired Executive Director, Hawai’i Meals on Wheels
Pete Shimazaki Doktor (Ikehara-son/Kijyoka, Okinawa), Co-founder HOA (Hawai`i Okinawa Alliance) and VFP-ROCK (Veterans for Peace, Ryūkyū Int'l Chapter)
Alice Kurima Newberry (Miyakojima, Okinawa), Graduate Student, University of Texas at Austin
Cassandra Chee, (Nishihara, Okinawa), Director of Community Organizing, Faith Action for Community Equity, Hawai'i.
Shinako Oyakawa, (Naha, Okinawa), Part-time Lecturer, Okinawa University
Norman Kaneshiro (Saki-Motobu/Henza, Okinawa), Co-Founder/Co-Director, Ukwanshin Kabudan; Shihan (Master), Ryukyu Koten Ongaku Nomuraryu Ongaku Kyo Kai (Association for the Nomura Style of Classical Ryukyuan Music); Lecturer, University of Hawaiʻi Ethnomusicology Program; MA student in Cultural Anthropology, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Keith Nakaganeku (Nago/Gushikawa, Okinawa), Co-Director, Ukwanshin Kabudan; Shihan (Master) Ryukyu Koten Ongaku Nomuraryu Ongaku Kyo Kai (Association for the Nomura Style of Classical Ryukyuan Music), Board Member, Toshiko Takaezu Foundation
Alexyss McClellan-Ufugusuku, (Tsukazan/ Kochinda, Okinawa), PhD Candidate, University of California Santa Cruz
Eric Wada, (Tāba-Gushikawa, Bise-Motobu), Co-Founder, Co-Director of Ukwanshin Kabudan NPO, Shihan (Master) of Tamagusuku Ryu Shosetsu Kai, Loochoo Nufani Gakumun Kai (Tamagusuku style Ryūkyūan Dance Place of Study), Ryūkyū cultural researcher, State of Hawaiʻi Hawaiian Studies Resource educator, graduate student University of Hawaiʻi, Hilo.
Daniel Iwama (Naha, Okinawa), PhD candidate, University of California, Los Angeles
Darlene Fukuji (Yonabaru & Gushikawa, Okinawa), President, Toshiko Takaezu Foundation & Exchange Student in the Hawaii Okinawa Sister State Exchange Program
Samuel Museus (Koza, Okinawa), Professor of Ethnic Studies, University of California, San Diego
Joseph Yoshimasu Kamiya (Tamagusuku, Okinawa), Community Organizer/Filmmaker, Gardena, California
Erica Kunihisa, Co-Host, Ichariba Choodee: Okinawan Voices and Stories, Portland, Oregon
Tori Toguchi, Outreach Manager, Ichariba Choodee: Okinawan Voices and Stories, Los Angeles, California
Wesley Ueunten (Sashiki and Ahagon), Professor of Asian American Studies, San Francisco State University
Koutaro Yuuji (Nishihara, Okinawa), Ph.D. student, the University of Hawai'i at Hilo
Jane H. Yamashiro, Ph.D. (Naha, Okinawa); Co-Director, Research Justice at the Intersections Fellowship Program, Mills College at Northeastern University
Adriane Stoia, Ph.D. Student, University of California Santa Cruz
Miho Zlazli (Yomitan, Okinawa / London, UK), PhD Candidate, SOAS University of London
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