Overview

Okinawa is a tiny island of huge geopolitical importance. Located between the tip of Japan's mainland and Taiwan, Okinawa's sovereignty is contested by China. It hosts several major US military bases, which have played a contested and controversial role on the island. Okinawa's future is tied closely to the competing strategies over Taiwan, as well as being framed as a potential target for North Korean missiles aimed at American military assets on the islands. In this short and revealing book, Ra Mason explores why and how this island paradise and the waters around it could trigger great power conflict.

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9781788217859

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Reviews

Ra Mason’s volume is both a fantastic work of research and a stimulating read, offering wholly new insights into the complex politics of Okinawa from the intersecting perspectives of international relations, domestic politics and political economy. There is nothing else in the field that offers this unique and excellent quality of analysis. -- Chris Hughes, Professor of International Politics and Japanese Studies, University of Warwick Few authors are better placed than Ra Mason to write this book introducing the complex connections between geopolitics and everyday life on Okinawa. Through examination of the economic, social and geopolitical impact of the US military bases Mason provides an excellent overview of the role of Okinawa in this new 'Indo-Pacific' era. Students will find an accessible and stimulating introduction to the topic, and scholars will find a wealth of original insights drawn from a diverse range of Japanese-language and other sources. -- Paul O‘Shea, Senior Lecturer, Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University, Sweden

Author Information

Ra Mason is Sasakawa Associate Professor of International Relations and Japanese Foreign Policy at the University of East Anglia. He has held visiting posts at the University of the Ryukyus (Okinawa), Tohku University, Ritsumeikan University and Meio University.

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