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'; T ruthout. The thriving little republic of Nauru was administered by Australia before its recent independence. The word "internment camp" was coined later, by the War Relocation Authority, as a euphemism. Based on hundreds of declassified US documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and interviews with US veterans and whistleblowers, it documents the Pentagons use, testing, and storage of chemical, nuclear, and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the Pacific and the disastrous impact of its flawed handling and storage of such weapons. Beyond her own sphere of association, New Zealand's trading influence is prominent in Tonga, Fiji and other areas of the Pacific with Commonwealth affiliations." Which countries are included? Saipan is the one the 90-year-old former local sailor remembers best. TOKYO (AP) Okinawa on Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan on May 15, 1972, which ended 27 years of U.S. rule after one of the bloodiest battles of World War II was fought on the southern Japanese island. HAWAIIAN: Caution. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. West, F. James, and Sophie Foster. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press. [5], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}261958N 1274456E / 26.33278N 127.74889E / 26.33278; 127.74889. [34][35][36] In Island Realm: A Pacific Panorama (1974), Ian Todd states that, "New Zealand is uniquely gifted in its role as a Polynesian associate. All told, Okinawa was the bloodiest operation of the Pacific War. magazine_button_text_384157 = ''; tn_keyword: ['imperialis', 'us-militar'], Invasion of Ie Shima. The term has since been critiqued by scholars who argue that the term does not reflect the experience of Pacific Islanders who have and continue to experience a unique set of struggles relating to sovereignty and decolonization, and do not fit into the model minority stereotype which paints Asian Americans as successful, assimilated into American mainstream, and with good cultural values. [12] Oceanic islands beyond that which neighbor Central America and South America (Galpagos, Revillagigedo, Juan Fernndez Islands etc.) Among the oceanic islands which are part of the Commonwealth of Australia are Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, the Torres Strait Islands, the Willis Group and Coringa Islands."[16]. Since WWII, Okinawa-hont, the region's biggest island, has been appropriated by the US military for several key installations in the Pacific. Their environment has been decimated by the American military, he said. The United States needed a base to stage an invasion of mainland Japan. Updates? Recent research, however, has been critical of such "acclaims" of Asian Americans as the model minority, contending that the socioeconomic success of Asian Americans has been exaggerated. However, the latest LEB for men in Okinawa is no higher than the national average. NBC News asked academics and experts about why certain words and phrases are (or aren't) used to describe Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. }); His book also describes years of high-decibel noise pollution from the American jets flying near residential areas in Okinawa. 2000. Up to 30 percent of the 270 million cluster bomblets dropped never exploded, killing or injuring 20,000 civilians since the bombing ended. So documents are vital., For that reason, he has donated most of his FOIA material for permanent display at universities and study centers in Okinawa, Hawaii, and Washington, D.C. To criticize the military is one of the last remaining taboos of the American mass media, he says. The prefecture is composed of roughly the southwestern two-thirds of the Ryukyu Islands, that archipelago forming the division between the East China Sea to the northwest and the Philippine Sea to the southeast. This month, the Ryukyu Shinpo reported, a fleet of FA-18 combat jets held day and night trainings at the contested base. MORE FROM Tim Shorrock A monthly newsletter on the global fight for reproductive freedom. One of these Blue Zones is Okinawa, Japan, the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. There are approximately 400 million people of Austronesian descent in the world today. In 2011, Mitchell was the first reporter to interview US Air Force technicians on Okinawa in charge of the storage of nuclear weapons, which included over 1,200 warheads at Kadena and Naha Air Force Bases as well as at US Army ammunition dumps in Chibana and Henoko. The model minority image also conceals the fact that the poverty rate among Asian Americans is higher than that of whites. magazine_button_bg_color_384157 = '#dd3333'; If the immigrant is "legal," then the immigrant at least has the hope of being welcomed at her or his destination, or at least accepted. August 6, 2019. Choose soy and soy foods.Try adding tofu to a stir-fry or switch from dairy milk to soy milk. }else{ Is there a better term we should be using? The distinction between undocumented immigrant and refugee is oftentimes unclear and oftentimes amounts to a political distinction cast by the country of destination, which might have moral and political obligations to refugees but not to undocumented immigrants. While the basic language of SOFA has not changed since its inception, it said both the US and Japanese governments agree that the agreement works well to serve the interests of the two countries. In the end, it concluded, the Commander of US Forces Japan is designated as the DoD Lead Environmental Component for Japan, and therefore will ensure US military operations are carried out in a responsible manner that will protect the environment now and for future generations., Statements like that, along with the lack of US press coverage, reflect the disdain on the part of the American elite towards Okinawa, Mitchell said. [57], This article is about the peoples of the Pacific Islands. [57], There are at least 39 different Pacific Island languages spoken as a second language in the American home. How is the term refugee different from immigrant? East Timor, while considered to be geographically Southeast Asian, is still generally accepted as being ethnoculturally part of Melanesia. More recently, Mitchell documented severe water contamination in drinking wells around Yokota Air Base, the headquarters of US Forces Japan near Tokyo where American presidents and other senior US officials land when they visit Japan. Why does it matter? Norfolk Island was uninhabited when discovered by Europeans, and later became politically integrated into Australia (and by extension, Australasia). The Battle of Okinawa, which began 75 years ago, was the last major battle of World War II and the bloodiest of the Pacific campaign. Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism, Hawaiian language finds new prominence in Hawaii's courts decades after near disappearance, 1966 New York Times Magazine article, "Success Story: Japanese American Style,", Asian Americans now most economically divided group in U.S., report finds, The Marginalized Model Minority: An Empirical Examination of the Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans. They show my work is reaching the attention of the US authorities. He was particularly pleased that the CIA had translated a Japanese TV report about his investigations into Agent Orange on Okinawa. 2003. U.S. intervention included providing the royal Lao government with financial aid and military advisers and recruitment of guerrilla forces comprised of Hmong, Lao and other ethnic groups. The problem, he contends, is the US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement signed in 1960. tn_author: ['tim-s'], The second phase of the Okinawa Campaign consisted of the objectives of Ie Shima, which housed the big airfield of the islands, and Motobu Peninsula. But, as Mitchell points out, the US military is building the Henoko base, the scene of daily demonstrations, upon a pristine coral reef. Although Japan surrendered on Aug. 14, 1945, the Japanese on Okinawa did not officially surrender until Sept. 2, 1945. Okinawans first realized their island was contaminated with PFAS in 2016 when tests by local authorities detected high levels of the substances in rivers running through and near Kadena Air. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April . These distinctions also matter to those of us who are looking at them, how we perceive them, and what degree of empathy we feel for them. In 1968, the term "Asian American" was coined by Yuji Ichioka and Emma Gee and other student activists as a strategic, unifying political identity for Asian ethnic groups to use as they resisted U.S. imperialism in Southeast Asia, and white Americans' use of "Oriental" as a derogatory term for Asians in the United States. You may unsubscribe or adjust your preferences at any time. What are the countries and cultures that the Census Bureau includes in the definition of Asian American and Pacific Islander? 1.Ryukyu Islands: 5 2.Okinawa Island Group: 6 3.The plan of Attack: 30 4.Advance in the North: 6th Marine, 4-8 April 1945: 140 5.Kakazu Pocket, 21 April 1945: 240 Map I: Strategic Situation in the Pacific Map II: Island of Okinawa Map III: Southern Okinawa Micronesia includes Kiribati, Nauru, the Marianas (Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia (Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae, all in the Caroline Islands). Learn the secrets to healthy aging and Okinawan longevity. . In addition those places listed above, Melanesia includes the Louisiade Archipelago, the Admiralty Islands, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea, Western New Guinea (part of Indonesia), Maluku Island, Aru Islands, Kei Islands, the Santa Cruz Islands (part of the Solomon Islands), Loyalty Islands (part of New Caledonia) and various smaller islands. Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is a freelance writer and speaker based in Michigan and Hawaii. "[2] This came as result of a steady stream of immigration from Polynesian countries such as Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Niue, and French Polynesia in the 20th and 21st centuries. In 1961, according to declassified US Army reports, the Joint Chiefs of Staff authorized US commanders to expand the arsenal to include 13,000 VX land mines and almost 60,000 shells of sarin agent. Dawn Lee Tu, professional development and diversity and inclusion strategist at De Anza College. In their genetic analysis, Cavalli-Sforza, Menozzi and Piazza (1994) identify Micronesians, Polynesians and Melanesians as a separate genetic cluster. To have this symbolic word used by Asians, particularly by Japanese Americans, as though it is their own, seems to symbolically mirror the way Native Hawaiian land was first taken by European Americans, and is now owned by European Americans, Japanese and Japanese Americans and other Asian American ethnic groups that numerically and economically dominate Native Hawaiians in their own land. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). In the 2020 census, conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Okinawan men lived to an average age of 80.27 and women reached 87.44. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. "Internment" and "relocation" implies benign protection, but these were military stockades with sentries and barbed wire to keep American citizens from getting out. The term "concentration camp" was the term used by the U.S. government to describe the intended purpose of containing Japanese Americans. slotId: "thenation_right_rail_384157", On Okinawa alone, during 82 days of fighting, approximately 100,000 Japanese troops and 12,510 Americans were killed, and somewhere between 42,000 and 150,000 Okinawan civilians died as well. } [39] Most islands however have historically had close ties to Australia and the United Kingdom, with the United States having had little impact on the region.[39][40]. [39] Nauru's main political partner since World War I has been Australia, excluding a brief period of Japanese occupation in World War II. Channapha Khamvongsa, executive director of Legacies of War. What is the difference between Hawaiian and Native Hawaiian? [39][41], The Polynesian islands are scattered across a triangle covering the east-central region of the Pacific Ocean. Follow NBC Asian America on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr. Copyright (c) 2023 The Nation Company LLC, By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and, agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support. The Japanese sustained about 100,000 dead. var magazine_button_text_384157 = ''; [51] Some smaller island populations such as Niue and Tokelau have the majority of their nationals living in New Zealand. They came from Southern China and Taiwan. [11] In the South Pacific, the easternmost oceanic island with any human inhabitation was Easter Island, settled by the Polynesian Rapa Nui people. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The US Indo-Pacific Command recently unveiled to Congress that it is seeking $27 billion in additional spending to station additional troops and weapons to counter what it says is a growing military threat from China. Details as to civilian casualties are virtually unknown, but Okinawan authorities and the U.S. military estimate 100,000-150,000 Okinawans perished. These incidents have ranged from small fuel leaks of only several liters that stayed on the base to large spills discharging tens of thousands of liters of fuel and raw sewage into local rivers, he writes. The invading force thought that the . Asian Americans have long been portrayed as the model minority since William Petersens 1966 New York Times Magazine article, "Success Story: Japanese American Style," and a myriad of subsequent studies of Asian socioeconomic attainment that crystallize this image. Several of the island groups have since developed financially crucial political alignments with the United States. [1] Access to the various Okinawa Islands is primarily via small airports which connect to Naha Airport. Seventeen thousand people formed a human chain around Futenma. Colorblind casting means casting actors in roles irrespective of their race. Mitchell is originally from Wales and lives in Yokohama. [22] The 1982 edition of the South Pacific Handbook, by David Stanley, groups Australia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island and the islands of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia under the more restrictive label of the "South Pacific Islands", even though Hawaii and most islands in Micronesia technically lie in the North Pacific. For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, NBC News is taking a closer look at some of the terminology used when discussing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in order to better understand why certain words and phrases are (or aren't) used. By signing up to receive emails, you agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation's journalism. While becoming an immigrant might be difficult, and while the immigrants life in a new country might be challenging, the journey itself between two countries is relatively safe. Finally, 9.1 percent of Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders, in comparison to 6.3 percent of non-Hispanic whites, were uninsured. [24] In his 2012 book Encyclopedia of Diversity in Education, American author James A. Sign up for our free daily newsletter, along with occasional offers for programs that support our journalism. Menu. The plans, which also draw on $4.6 billion appropriated by Congress for its Pacific Deterrence Initiative, include a precision strike missile network on the island chain running from Okinawa to the Philippines, the first US Marine base in the Pacific since the Korean War, a missile defense system on Guam, and a radar system on Palau in the Marshall Islands. magazine_button_bg_color_384157 = '#ffcf0d'; Health: According to Census Bureau projections, the 2020 life expectancies at birth for Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders are 80.8 years, with 83.2 years for women, and 78.5 years for men. They are still a part of the subregion for ethnocultural reasons. Sources/Usage Public Domain. Scattered across 100,000 square miles of open water in the western . [37], Melanesians constitute over three quarters of the total indigenous population of the Pacific Islands; Polynesians account for more than one-sixth; and Micronesians make up about one-twentieth. Okinawa's bustling capital Naha and the sprawling resorts further north draw steady streams of shopping, sun-seeking and honeymooning tourists from neighboring Asian nations. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoplesinhabitants and diasporas of any of the three major subregions of Oceania (Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia).. Melanesians include the Fijians (), Kanaks (New Caledonia), Ni-Vanuatu (), Papua New Guineans . [56], According to the Office of Management and Budget, "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander" refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. Tuna fishing, cattle raising, sugar refining, and pineapple canning constitute Okinawas main economic activities, and tourism is of growing importance. For substantive measures of success, including median individual income, wage returns to education and representation at the managerial level, Asians actually fare worse than whites. [1], The Okinawa Islands are within the subtropical climate zone, which supports the production of sugarcane, pineapples and cut flowers. These distinctions amount to matters of life and death for the person who is classified as immigrant, refugee or undocumented immigrant. Jon Mitchell, the investigative reporter for the Okinawa Times who interviewed Heathcote and Mohler, has spent years documenting the Pentagons brazen use of the Pacific as a testing site and dumping ground for dangerous weapons. I'm talking sparkling blue waters, and lush nature and wi. Through FOIA, Mitchell also documented that the State Department and the CIA have closely followed his reporting and speaking engagements in Japan. Yellowface is the term used to describe non-Asian actors (typically white) putting on makeup, including prosthetics, to look like a stereotyped version of an Asian person. She has been a contributor for AAPIVoices.com, NewAmericaMedia.org, ChicagoIsTheWorld.org, PacificCitizen.org and InCultureParent.com. Similarly, whitewashing describes a non-Asian actor playing an Asian character either with or without the exaggerated makeup. tn_subject: ['activism', 'arms-spend', 'asia', 'environmen', 'environmen', 'foreign-po', 'internatio', 'journalist', 'national-s', 'nuclear-ar', 'radioactiv', 'us-wars-an', 'war-and-pe', 'world'], Dr. Viet Thanh Nguyen, professor of English and American studies and ethnicity at the University of Southern California, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Sympathizer and The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives. [37], The majority of island groups are most closely aligned to New Zealand/Australia, with others being politically aligned to France or the United States. Easter Island is located in a remote part of the Pacific which is thousands of kilometers removed from both Polynesia and the South American continent. var magazine_text_384157 = ''; Though considered by the Japanese as speaking a dialect, the Rykyans speak separate languages such as Okinawan, also known as Uchinaguchi, as well as Amami, Miyako, Yaeyama and Yonaguni.