Loosening the Okinawan Knot

The objective of this dissertation monograph is to provide U.S.-Japan Alliance managers, scholars and analysts, and the general public with a more detailed and reliable understanding of the nature of the Okinawan public's perceptions, policy preferences, and cultural attitudes regarding the problems and benefits associated with the U.S. military in Okinawa (USFO). To achieve this objective, a mix of qualitative and quantitative anthropological and statistical methods were used to analyze prefecturally-representative survey data obtained from the Okinawa Prefectural Government and ethnographic data collected during field work in Okinawa. More specifically, this research explores the Okinawan people's broad public policy priorities, examines their satisfaction with ongoing efforts to address base problems, identifies and describes the most salient and important problems and benefits they associate with USFO, and highlights some common misconceptions, miscommunications, and other cultural insights related to those problems and benefits. These findings are intended to make public relations and impact mitigation programs, policies, and communications more culturally relevant and responsive. Doing so should not only improve relations between U.S.-Japan Alliance representatives and the Okinawan public, but also organically increase political support for USFO among the broader Okinawan populace, political support that may be necessary to ensure the political feasibility of U.S. basing rights in the future.