On May 15, Japan will mark the 45th anniversary of the return of Okinawa.
For 27 years prior, the U.S. administered the islands, a continuous period of occupation that began after the Battle of Okinawa in June 1945. This makes the new translation of Mamoru Akamine's "The Ryukyu Kingdom: Cornerstone of East Asia" both welcome and timely. Many Okinawans today still feel like the put-upon runt of Japan's prefectural litter.
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