Okinawa..... Okie, leave now ahh!

National security can conflict with the security of sub-groups within a nation.

The people of Okinawa have been jeopardized by Japan in order to keep U.S. forces within the nation.  The Japanese government, for a number of reasons, has decided to maintain relations with the U.S. and keep many forces and bases within their land.  However, mainland Japan has decided to keep most of the U.S. presence in the small islands of Okinawa.  This is a classic example of how the interests of one ethic group can conflict with the interests of another and thus cause marginalization of the former.  Okinawa has been discounted as a lesser population than other Japanese people.

This shows us that security can no longer be played out between national actors only.  The leaders of a nation can threaten the security of social groups within their scope.  Since the author of the speech we read this week, Governor Ota, defines the security of Okinawa as the stability of industry, low rate of crime, freedom of land, and other non-military issues, it is clear the security of Okinawans is threatened to preserve the security of mainland Japan.

Why the Marginalization of Okinawa?

Okinawa used to be its own kingdom centuries ago.  Mainland Japan, in an act of imperialism, annexed the kingdom and established its own rulers and the islands' rulers.  Thus, the people were placed in a position of oppression and social demotion.  When Japan signed a peace treaty with the U.S. requiring the nation to host U.S. forces for a number of years, they naturally appointed Okinawa as the host site to be built on and used for such exploitative purposes.  

And this, the Governor points out, is the reason why the U.S. presence cannot be reduced on the island: it would threaten the military protection the U.S. provides for the rest of Japan.  But what about the Okinawans???

Other Reasons for No Military Reduction in Okinawa

Okinawa is the perfect geographical location for a military base (near mainland Japan, China, Taiwan, and the whole of Asia).  This is too perfect of a position to launch defensives or even offensives for any military body. Thus, the U.S. is hesitant to reduce or reallocate its military to other areas of further north mainland Japan.

Troop and Base Maintenance: What's In It for Okinawans?

Not a whole lot.  As of right now, the economy is suffering under troop presence because the Okinawans have no land to build industry on.  The military bases don't employ many native Okinawans.  The military hurts their personal, daily life quality.  If the troop presence is reduced, security for these people may increase.  However, it does leave the island and U.S. military more vulnerable to invasion and loss of power (respectively).  So, we must weigh the costs versus the benefits in the context of current politics, economy, and social norms.  Do Japan and the U.S. really need to have as many bases in Okinawa as they have right now or can the Okinawans finally have the chance to advance themselves and have the peace they've craved for hundreds of years?

Forget and Then You Don't Need to Forgive: Why this philosophy just doesn't work

Historical Memory of Japanese, Germans, and U.S.

The author brings up a great point in saying that each of the three nations remember and forget their own wartime atrocities very differently.  The U.S. does portray it's own crimes as those carried out by a select set of blood-thirsty military black sheep and then has gone on to say the war crimes of Japan and Germany were because they sanctioned unfair and inhumane war practices and are savage people.  This is a double-standard the U.S. uses for sure.  But, then again, don't we all think Japan and Germany do the same thing?  It's called nationalism and it's found in public speech, text books, research papers.  It's what any people naturally do when it comes to history, you never want to be the wrong party.  However, at least in this case, the atrocity is not forgotten completely.

I cannot believe that Germany has completely admitted it's responsibility for the Nazi Era.  Just recently, I believe, the chancellor before Merkel said they were not sure it ever happened and many American political analysts we come to call "quack jobs" even still deny its existence to this day.  It's hard to believe but it happens and so we cannot say that Germany has even come clean.  They have done a good job owning up to it but still place all blame on one man and his highly brainwashed posse.

The nation's historical memory that struck me the most was Japan, by far.  The fact that the government is attempting to take the massacres and bombings and Chinese slaughters out of their text books is not only a free speech violation and crazy thought straight out of 1984, it's impossible to believe the Japanese, Chinese, or Korean people would be that gullible.  Forgetting an entire segment of history would be detrimental to the healing process of the Chinese and Koreans and even a detriment to Japan learning from it's past mistakes.  The article 9, as the author rightly connects, seems to show that Japan has reconciled to an extent.  However, as the author suggests, they want to forget but skip the part of realization because maybe they believe they can never be forgiven.  I think that an open admittance and apology would do wonders for Asian relations between Japan and all other nations.

Not only that, this sort of concession and act of repentance of a traditionally stubborn and proud nation would send a ripple effect throughout the entire world.  China might apologize for its mistakes with Tibet, Mongolia, and Taiwan (in the distant future to be sure, but eventually) and, more importantly, equally stubborn U.S. would admit it's historical need to be the world police and keeper of all things democratic and just has kept it from admitting to its mistakes.  The U.S. may apologize to Japan for massive bombings, Iraq for today's situations, war prisoners for their suffering, and other groups much like it apologized to the war camp inhabitants of WWII.  We admitted to stupidity then and received nothing but praise for coming clean.  I understand that the U.S. is afraid it might show weakness on our part to apologize, but, let's face it, what threat do we really have to be scared of nowadays?

Japan: Changed on the outside, same on the inside

A twelve year old compare to the adult U.S?

Japan seems to have a lot of good things going for itself. It has an amazing economy and gives a lot of international aid. However, a lot of its success in the world depends now, as it has since WWII, on the U.S.'s puppeteering. This happened when the U.S. took over the government post-WWII and used the emperor as a Japanese face to a U.S. agenda. The goal in this was to keep loyalty to Americans while appealing to the pride Japanese people have in their culture and abilities. My question here was why would the proud Japanese allow this to happen? The answer provided by the author was that it ensured that Japan would be protected from big, bad nuclear North Korea. Here, the people value military security over other kinds of protection.

A cool thing I read in this chapter was how the successive rulers of Japan all claim to bring about a new "era" in Japan in which progress occurs consistently. It's as if they all claim to be moving in a direction where the Japanese advance militarily, economically, politically towards some greater state of being. Where are they going with this progress? What does Japan want and can it achieve this desire with U.S. pulling the strings? Is this just a revolution as the author says or is real reform going on amongst the Japanese people?

The future of Japan is very important to East Asia and the world because of the scale of Japan's economy. This explains the U.S.'s interests in maintaining control over Japanese affairs and why it coerces Japan into subordination with promises of diplomatic power and stability. Is the U.S. actually holding Japan back from legitimacy in world politics by being it's "Dad" by acting this way? Where would Japan's alliances, power, and influence flow if it is let go by the U.S.? How has Japan managed to maintain its identity and cultural uniqueness when so many other nations under U.S.'s influence have seemed to lose it. Can the U.S. hold on to this forever?

The Girl in the Cafe: Thoughts on the movie and world issues

Greetings from the United States!

Welcome to my blog on the politics of security in East Asia. This blog is for one of my college courses and explores the definition of security and how its being addressed in East Asian nations. I am using a portion of the space for this blog to write about The Girl in the Cafe and how the movie changed some of my values in world, political topics. Want to know more and become part of the world-wide movement? Go to The Girl in the Cafe: On Tour It just may change your life, too.

Just a great movie in general...
This movie is the perfect way to get new demographics interested in real world issues. Placing what seems like a love story within the setting of a G-8 Summit and talks on millenium development goals (MDGs) gives a personal face to politics and the people involved in them. I loved the quirkiness of the couple and how oddly their relationship developed under such circumstances.

The characters are symbols for actors on the world stage
Gina embodies a humane view of MDGs. She is the true heart, soul, and vision behind what these goals seek to fulfill. Lawrence is the voice of reason, the voice of education, and the voice of today's progress-driven world. He is a political analyst with the MDGs in mind but a national government and national interests to answer to. And he does his job but the obsession he has with his work shows he wants the simplicity, compassion, and idealism associated with Gina. She cannot see why the issue of famine is so difficult to resolve but he cannot figure out how to make the issue simple enough. And neither can his colleagues.

The Girl makes you think
She really opened my eyes to how backwards and unflexible the world power distribution is. She thought of this problem on the human level, being a person who has witnessed the death of a child (possibly hers) at the hands of her husband, where the real victims of world hunger also exist. No matter what anyone said to her, she knew that the real answer was to simply help the starving people of the world because developed nations have the food and money to do so. It makes you think... How have we gotten to this place? What forces and international power structures stop us from addressing such basic problems quickly and cohesively? Will we ever be able to take care of the world's people the way we were meant to ever again? Gina puts it very eloquently when she warns of something along the lines of the danger of losing touch with what really matters when one thinks too hard and is too educated. You lose your humanity.

The prime minister says its dangerous to say things when you know too little. Gina responds by saying that it can be dangerous to know too much.

The message of the movie
What do I think about the hopeful, idealistic ending in which the British Prime Minister finally caves into the simple vision the Girl shows him??? I think it is the only way the movie could've ended. There has to be a point where we wake up and start to shift focus from power and money to people, health, happiness, and the right to life again. I want to believe the film makers made this movie because they see a possibility for change, too.

What are the odds that Lawrence, the face of world power structures, meets Gina, the voice of the world community, in a Cafe and finds himself at a table with her? This meeting in the cafe represents the important day the serendipitous encounter of hunger and its relief meet, make a connection, and put all their energies together in order make the world right again the way Gina and Lawrence fight for their love. Amazing movie that really puts life into perspective for a student of politics and anyone who uses reason and theory too much when thinking about the lives of millions of his/her fellow human beings.

The More The Merrier: Peace Talks with North Korea

Hardliners Target Detente with North Korea
Kim & Feffer

A New National Strategy for Korea
Klinger

The situation with North and South Korea is very unstable one. The first article by Kim and Feffer looks at the consequences of the U.S. pursuing unilateral agreements with N. Korea. They argue that the Bush administration is actually hurting chances of N. Korea denuclearizing and making peace with the rest of the world, including S. Korea.

The biggest problem is that N. Korea has not been as transparent as the "Six Party Talks" agreement had called for and yet Bush still conceded to the nation in many ways. Klinger goes on to blame this move on Bush's need to leave a foreign policy legacy. There is a flaw in this, however, as also demonstrated by the Syria situation. No one is entirely certain what nuclear weapons and other tools N. Korea actually possesses because they, as Klinger puts it, use secrecy as their weapon. President Kim is right, not knowing what N. Korea is capable makes them incredibly scary to the outside world. However, this also leads those participating in peace talks with little to base the need for transparency on. So, is this an issue or isn't it? Should N. Korea be granted their right to "privacy" if we have no verifiable grounds on which to suspect them of dangerous activity? Or, as Bush and other nations have concluded, are they only being secret because they have something to hide? Can we factor in N. Korea culture when it comes to national pride?

So how do human rights factor in?
As I see it, we have already decided that human rights are a security issue, right? Then why, as Kim and Feffer highlight, are human rights groups angry over placing these issues alongside political agenda and denuclearization talks? It's kind of like pork (or bacon, whatever its called) with U.S. legislation.... if the Six Parties can somehow manage to slide human rights practices among the nuclear issue, then they may have the chance to make amazing gains in a nation known for kidnapping and starving its people. It seems to me, however, that everyone not in support of discussing human rights along with nuclear weapons is stuck in the old definition of security. However, the fact that human rights are even being discussed in the same article as other, more traditional military, security issues is a step in the right direction.

So how about making it a party?
There is something to both Kim &Feffer's article and Klinger. The first emphasizes that S. Korea is pushing better relations with the North by making it into a business deal: you give us info. and we'll give you money and resources to help your starving people. This is good for inter-Korean security but not for everyone else because it gives N. Korea no incentive to cooperate with everyone else. How do we know they are actually using the money for the intended purposes? We don't unless we follow Klinger's suggestion of requiring N. Korea to show where the money is going. Good luck with that since we can't even get into the country.

What Klinger suggests throughout his whole article is multilateral engagement. The U.S. may gain some sense of security by engaging with N. Korea and S. Korea may also make some gains, but in both cases, no other nations gain from these peace-talks. This is dangerous because, if N. Korea has the deadly weapons we all so fear, then the nations not giving concessions to N. Korea are vulnerable. And so are the people within the country who's human rights issues are continuing to go ignored under unilateral agreements. However, multilateral agreements seems to offer the best incentives. Klinger highlights nuclear compliance and transparency of all "six party" nations, more free trade and less reliance of any one nation on another, and lessen perceived military threat from any one nation on another. Essentially, the more people involved with bringing N. Korea into the world stage, the more N. Korea's accountability is spread out and the harder it would be for them to violate any agreements it has made. That's a great idea!

Seeing the Broader Picture
Klinger definitely has a very well-rounded approach concerning the U.S.'s role with both Koreas. And it's interesting he takes this stance of gaining more power for all six parties but even more so for itself right under S. Korea's nose by putting it in the Korea Herald. Klinger provides suggestions for Free Trade Agreements, enhanced military alliance with S. Korea, and drafting detailed plans for a new U.S.- South Korea alliance as a means for both strengthening their bond and forming more power to get at the N. Korea issue. This makes sense in the nuclear and human rights issues because having stronger bonds between U.S. and S. Korea than the South has with the North allows for a better chance that no one nation forms too strong a unilateral engagement with North Korea. However, I can see potential for the U.S. to gain more power over the East Asia region by disguising as an equal partnership, thus appeasing the increasing distrust over U.S. military presence. However, as the rest of the region benefits from the actions Klinger suggests, N. Korea will feel the pressure to become transparent and thus comply with the human rights and nuclear guidelines the rest of the world has set out to follow.

North Korea: Nuclear Crisis

The documentary we watched on North Korea provided an small glimpse into both sides of the North Korean situation. On one hand, it showed the poverty that pervades North Koreans. The people are malnourished and have no jobs. They are under the strictest regulations and have very few freedoms.

On the other hand, North Koreans seem to rally under several commonalities. They have a fear of external nations, more specifically, the U.S., invading their country. They fear military action and nuclear war. Whether this is something the people have decided for themselves or the government pressured this notion through propaganda, the people thrive off of the pride and national identity that their hermit-like existence brings. The people also perform grand ceremonies to celebrate their leader and cry in the streets when he dies. This is all a big show but it's hard to tell if it's really all shallow or means something to the North Koreans.

The interviews with Kim and visits to North Korea reveal little if anything about the conditions in North Korea. Interviewers had only Kim's favorite hobbies, fashion sense, and drink of choice to report on. These are the shallowest observations and reveal absolutely nothing about the real North Korea. I think we all know this already. The thing that bothers me is that at the time, the visits of Jimmy Carter and Madeline Albright seemed like progress in relations with North Korea. And yet, they returned with news of nothing. How did that happen? The best guess I have is that Kim paid them off or offered free nuclear arms trade or promised to never release nuclear power on the U.S. What did they really see and why aren't they telling us the truth?

The country is impossible to get into so there is little known about what the people actually live like and thus no way to tell if the nuclear threat is something for us to worry about. The documentary confused me even more than it gave me knowledge about North Korea. It's no wonder the U.S. has no idea what it will do with the situation. On one hand, peace with the nation would be ideal but on the other hand, they seem not to want to concede anything to the U.S. or even talk. The U.S. needs to make great concession as well, especially with regards to nuclear power aimed back at Korea and troops stationed in South Korea ready to strike at the north. So, with so much at stake for each side and no one ready to budge first, will anything ever get done?

Sexual Labor and Security???

"Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S.-Korea Relations

The article by Katherine H. S. Moon portrays a very innovative way of looking at the sex trade industry in South Korea as a product of and essential component to South Korea's security, specifically the security provided by U.S. forces.

To summarize the issue, essentially Moon explains the history of sex trade in Korea. It began in WWII with comfort women for the Japanese forces in Korea. This was a forced business for Korean women under the oppression of the Japanese soldiers. Then, it continued all the way through the Korean War when American forces established clubs and bars for servicemen to pick up women and meet their needs. The industry is still going even today.

The Korean economy was so bad at the time that most women did not have employment and needed some means for providing for themselves and their families. This is how the relationship started. Then, as time went along, it became a staple for troops in Korea and the women who needed work. They each depend upon the industry of sex, or at the very least expect it. This is an interesting, yet disturbing situation.

On one hand, allowing sexual labor greatly threatens the security of the Korean people, especially the women who work, on a personal, health, and cultural scale. These women are not safe in daily life (my simple definition of security) because their health is at risk, they can become depressed from the work, and society shuns them for violating deep-rooted, ancient cultural norms (such as racial purity and sexual purity). This is a security crisis for an old, priceless nation of people.

On the other hand, taking away the sex trade industry also threatens security. Sexual labor brings economic security to the women who work, the clubs who own them, and the bartenders who serve them and servicemen drinks. The sex trade industry is also being portrayed by Moon and other scholars as a key ingredient in maintaining U.S. troops to protect South Korea from North Korea, China, and other outside nations (actors) that threaten their security as a nation. The availability of sexual partners on a whim, for cheap, is seen as a desirable part of a soldier's stay in Korea and necessary to keep troops coming back.

However, as Moon also sees, I do not think this is the case any longer. Korean people are seeing the terrible effects of such a relationship. They could once overlook these because of the military-based security benefits reaped from sex trade. However, the definition of security has changed and so have the climate.

People now see security as not just militarily based but culturally, economically, and socially. The climate now involves a pan-Korean nationalist movement to reunite North and South Korea, thereby eliminating an enemy and the need for the U.S. troops that fuel the sex trade. Thus, the sex trade threatens security in today's world moreso than it protects security. With reunification becoming a topic of conversation and possibly a movement, I believe there is no longer room for sex trade and that the women who's personal security is threatened by it have the chance for a safer, better life someday.