NAHA, Okinawa — At the heart of a possible U.S.-Japanese allied effort to defend Taiwan in the coming years against a feared Chinese attack lies the long line of far-flung islands that make up Japan’s southernmost territory. People here are increasingly disturbed by the existential prospect of being caught in yet another bloody crucible between warring great powers.
The pervasiveness of the U.S. military footprint on Okinawa Prefecture, which is home to some 1.4 million people, is contributing to a palpable anxiety among many civilians, argues Okinawan Gov. Denny Tamaki, whose father was an American Marine.
“At the skin level, people feel like war is continuing,” Tamaki said during an August interview at his office in Naha, the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture. “The majority of the Okinawan people feel a sense of emotional crisis toward the possibility of war because of the fact that so many U.S. bases are located here.”
