Battle over Okinawa history rages on
A short walk through the rice and sugarcane fields that dot Yomitan village, 20 kilometers north of Naha, capital of Okinawa prefecture, leads to dark, dank caves where hundreds of civilians took refuge as United States troops invaded the island during World War ll.
More than six decades later, these caves are at the center of a bitter battle over what really happened there.
For Masayasu Oshiro, a historian who has documented the sufferings of poor farming communities that were caught in the only battle fought on Japanese soil between the Imperial Army and US troops, the facts are clear. "I have recorded countless stories told by aging Okinawan war survivors. They include horrifying accounts of how people committed mass suicide and murder under orders from the Japanese military. Their testimonies have been recorded at the Okinawan prefecture office to track our war history," he told Inter Press Service.
Such recordings are irksome for the Japanese government that is keen to whitewash this part of history. But local governments in Okinawa and the surrounding islands are determined not to let the Japanese Education Ministry have its way.
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More than six decades later, these caves are at the center of a bitter battle over what really happened there.
For Masayasu Oshiro, a historian who has documented the sufferings of poor farming communities that were caught in the only battle fought on Japanese soil between the Imperial Army and US troops, the facts are clear. "I have recorded countless stories told by aging Okinawan war survivors. They include horrifying accounts of how people committed mass suicide and murder under orders from the Japanese military. Their testimonies have been recorded at the Okinawan prefecture office to track our war history," he told Inter Press Service.
Such recordings are irksome for the Japanese government that is keen to whitewash this part of history. But local governments in Okinawa and the surrounding islands are determined not to let the Japanese Education Ministry have its way.