Nao Sakurada gives us perspective on the history
Nao Sakurada, intern att Operation 1325 Autumn 2024, has written following text about her hometown, Okinawa in Japan, where peace and security issues directly impact women’s daily lives. With a focus on the women’s movement for peace and rights in Okinawa, Nao gives us a perspective on history. The opinions expressed in the text are her own.
The Okinawa Islands are located on the South-Western edge of Japan. The Okinawan people are internationally considered an indigenous people of Japan and were once part of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, which remained independent until Japan’s invasion in the 17th century. In addition to enduring cultural and political oppression from Japan, Okinawa also became the only area in Japan where ground combat with the United States occurred during World War II. After devastating battles in Okinawa and the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan was militarily occupied by the United States. While the occupation ended in 1952, it did not end entirely; Okinawa remained under U.S. military occupation until 1972.
Today, 31 U.S. military bases remain in Okinawa, making up 70% of the U.S. military presence in Japan, even though Okinawa itself comprises only 0.6% of Japan’s land area.
As in other areas where there are U.S. military bases, such as South Korea and the Philippines, crimes committed by military personnel also occur in Okinawa, including incidents of sexual violence against women. In response, a strong civil society and peace movement have developed in Okinawa, continuing to fight for women’s rights and the demilitarization of the region.
The Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence, co-chaired by Suzuyo Takasato, is one of the most prominent voices advocating for women and peace in Okinawa. Okinawa’s fight against sexual violence by the U.S. military began after the gang rape and murder of a 5-year-old girl in 1995 (Takasato’s reserach). Initially, the case received no open media coverage, but it gained attention after activists, including Takasato, raised awareness. Today, crimes committed by U.S. military personnel in Okinawa are promptly noticed and met with criticism from Okinawan people. Okinawa has a long history of resistance against the U.S. military and the Japanese government, which does not place particularly high demands on the U.S. to ensure respect for human rights in Okinawa. Following the case of the murder in 1995, Takasato established the “Rape Emergency Intervention Counseling Center Okinawa” (REICO), which offers legal and psychological support to victims. With support from REICO, the Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence has collected numerous stories and criminal cases, including those undocumented during the occupation or those not registered as criminal cases by police upon victims’ requests, from 1945 to the present.
Last year, the 13th edition of the organization’s report on sexual crimes committed by U.S. military personnel was published. In total, approximately 1,000 cases have been documented, with the latest report containing over 600 new cases compared to the previous 2016 edition. Many of these cases were reported long after the incidents, sometimes decades later. This delay is one reason the number has doubled since the last edition, indicating how difficult it has been for victims to come forward. Without this report, these cases would have gone unrecorded in official statistics. The organization believes, however, that many cases remain hidden, as the legal process complicates investigation and prosecution, which some perpetrators intentionally exploit.
Takasato believes that the first barrier for victims in reporting a sexual crime is Japan’s rape legislation. Until 2017, victims had to explicitly demand prosecution for a rape to be officially documented as a crime, allowing police to investigate and prosecute perpetrators. The second barrier is the legal status of U.S. military personnel in Japan.
Military agreements between Japan and the United States have two main components. The first, a bilateral agreement from 1952, outlines long-term military cooperation between the countries. The second regulates tax and legal matters for U.S. military personnel in Japan. This second agreement limits the Japanese police’s ability to investigate and prosecute cases, as police cannot access suspects for questioning until the trial begins (Article 17, paragraph 5c). Additionally, suspects often receive full legal support from the U.S. military, unlike victims, who are private individuals. Although amendments were made after persistent negotiations between Okinawa and Japan, and subsequently Japan and the United States, the agreement still falls short of Okinawan demands.
Many Okinawan female activists, including Takasato, began to argue in the 90s that the rapes and other sexual violence by U.S. military personnel in Okinawa could constitute war crimes. Building on the international discourse that sexual violence in armed conflict can constitute a war crime, they continued to work for justice even though Okinawa was no longer in an active armed conflict (Takasato’s article). Okinawan women’s activists raised this issue at the UN Women’s Conference in Beijing in 1995 (Read more).
Their argument has gained support following the UN Security Council’s adoption of Resolution 1325 in 2000, and, subsequently, Resolution 1820 in 2008, which states in paragraph 4 that “rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute a war crime, a crime against humanity”. This has bolstered the opposition to the long-term U.S. military presence and the associated sexual violence in Okinawa. Resolution 1325 is now frequently cited in petitions and protests from Okinawa urging the Japanese government to include working against sexual violence from military bases in its national action plan for implementing Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security (Read more).
In my view, Japan remains in a post-war era where women’s basic rights are not fully met, despite its image as a modern, economically developed nation. This issue brought to shed light to the stories and activism of Okinawan women. The US military presence and the consequences described above raises broader questions about the real impact of U.S. development aid through Japan’s democratization. In many ways, Japan has yet to achieve the peace and democracy sought after the war, when Japan was a fascist, militaristic state. Women’s voices and involvement in promoting democracy and human rights remain crucial, nearly 80 years after the war.
by: Nao Sakurada
