Week 6 Discussion Post

I think being labeled as a spy for internal relations was a deliberate decision by the Japanese government to discourage Okinawans from uniting into a resistance by creating an atmosphere of fear and suspicion among the populace. Having community and camaraderie been seen as a threating symbol prevents a group of disenfranchised people from recognizing the injustice being done to them and disallows them from uniting against their oppressors. It also taught Okinawans to be wary of “non-Japanese” behavior as “Okinawan” culture began to be viewed as barbaric, and Japan grew to be the symbol of civilization and “correct behavior.” I think this might have impacted their view of Korean comfort women because now there was a new “other” that Okinawans could antagonize to signal to their Japanese colonizers how “Japanese” and “civilized” they were, compared to this new “inferior” people. In their view, separating themselves further from Korean comfort women might bring them closer to equality with the Japanese.