Colonial Politics of Security Arrangements

Ota thinks that the main reason that Okinawa bears a disproportionate burden of the US' military presence in Japan is because mainland Japanese politicians do not think of Okinawa as wholly Japanese or as first-class citizens. He also says that the Japanese government refuses to listen to the citizens of Okinawa, who have signed petition after petition asking for the US military's presense to be reduced or at least made proportionate to the military presense on mainland Japan. Also, if Okinawa is not under-represented in the Diet, not enough representatives believe that Okinawa needs help and they refuse to form coalitions to help Okinawa. They also do not want to back anything that will take US bases from Okinawa and put them in their own backyard.

The main reason that the US military refuses to decrease their military is because Okinawa is a strategic location that serves both Asia and the Middle East. Also, the US military can do basically whatever it wants without too many repercussions because of several treaties signed with the US and Japan. Ota is frustrated because the US military acts without much thought to the Okinawan citizens, much like a dictator, and the US, of all places, should be championing democracy. But instead the US leaders just ignore all of the Okinawans attempts as solving anything democratically. This hypocracy is central to the issue of US bases on Okinawa and cannot be easily ameliorated.