In the ripples over Xi Jinping’s ‘Ryukyu’ comment, has Okinawa become an ‘anti-Japan card’? (22jn23)

Splendor of Okinawa: Bougainvillea, roadside Uruma, 24my23

At the beginning of July, Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki will make a trip to China. Prior to the visit, at the beginning of this month, China’s President Xi Jinping for the first time commented on China’s deep exchanges with ‘Ryukyu’ in association with the Senkaku Islands (in Okinawa’s Ishigaki City). 

The ripples from his comments are broadening. Voices of alert even sent jolts through the Japanese Government’s relations with Okinawa over the hidden intention of President Xi’s comments.

Some have even speculated that the Xi Administration was playing Okinawa as a new ‘anti-Japan’ card in exasperation in its annoyance over Japan’s intrusion into the Taiwan issue.

President Xi made an inspection tour of the Chinese National Block-printing Museum in Beijing, which houses historical material such as ancient documents. On the front page of the 4 June edition of the People’s Daily, an organ of the Chinese Communist Party, the news of the 1 day event was covered.

Amid the coverage was a report on President Xi’s comment on exchanges between Ryukyu and China. President Xi  received an explanation of documents from the Ming Dynasty from a staff member who noted, “This records that the DiaoYu Islands (the Chinese name for our Senkaku Islands) were territorially associated with China.”

In response, President Xi commented on his comings and goings around Fuzhou City in Fujian Province during his stint as an official there, noting, “The roots of the exchanges between Fuzhou and Ryukyu are well known. Fuzhou even has its Ryukyu Mansion and Ryukyu Cemetery.” He also mentioned that the ‘36 Fujian Family Names’ of Kume were those who crossed from Fujian to Ryukyu during the Ming Dynasty.

In the 1990s, Xi had served in top posts in Fuzhou. The Ryukyu Mansion, established to house dignitaries of the Ryukyu Kingdom, even has an exhibition on Xi Jinping. During Xi’s time in office in Fuzhou, it seems he ‘placed great emphasis on friendly cultural exchanges’ with the city of Naha. As for President Xi’s comment, some onlookers have surfaced claiming that it was a new jolt to Japan.

In May of 2013, the People’s Daily published an essay by a researcher which placed doubt on Okinawa’s Reversion to Japan, calling Okinawa’s status, “A pending historical question, as yet unresolved.”

An environmental report under the auspices of the same newspaper claimed that Okinawa’s capability for independence ‘\ought to be nurtured.’ That article was seen at the time to be a way for China to put  pressure on Japan during the rift in Sino-Japanese relations over the Japanese Government’s taking national possession of Senkaku. Some onlookers see this as its revival of that tactic.

Hong Kong born researcher John Chuan-tiong Lim’s view is, “China may be dealing with its own discrete attitude to the issue of Okinawa’s status.” That is because sticking its hand carelessly into the issue of Okinawan sovereignty could speed like a fire into the Taiwan issue and such. 

However, for the past several years the Xi Administration    has been consciously strengthening its alliance with Russia. It seems to researcher Lim that Xi is maneuvering toward Russia’s position on the Northern Territories issue. 

Researcher Lim points out, “Hereafter, China will be strategically maneuvering somehow toward when it can make great moves in East Asian regional relations. It will be worth noting whether or not China plays the ‘Okinawa card’.”

Original Japanese article: Sankei News, published Saturday 17 June 2023 at 19:42. Byline: Seihei Mizuka

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/75839e2dab6babf2bd0cd24db3e0ea2ef592b8f1

Denny in the News: news about Governor Denny Tamaki.

Denny Tamaki is the governor of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. Although Okinawa is important as an international tourist destination and a key element in strategic US Military Forces, its governor receives very little coverage in the Japanese press and almost none in the English language media. 

This blog hopes to  translate one news article a day on the governor.  It is unsponsored and unauthorized. The translator simply hopes to improve his skills and perhaps give the governor an English speaking audience. 

Any suggestion on improving the translation will be gratefully accepted. However, please leave political comments for another forum.

Where they occur, words and phrases in Ryukyuan (the Okinawan language) are rendered in italics and translated in parentheses. Names  whose readings are uncertain are rendered as Name (=Kanji?) as in Nagayuki (=長行?). Any corrections in such instances would be gratefully appreciated.