In Okinawa, Ryukyu royalty descendant stands firm on independence from Japan
- Self-rule campaigner aims for prefecture’s freedom to choose its own security alliances and diplomatic ties
- An independent Ryukyu would create a ‘recreation centre’ that would welcome warships from every nearby nation, including North Korea
Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence Party, concedes he has some way to go before he can convince a majority of voters to back his vision of the islands’ future, but he and his supporters have mapped out economic, social and security policies that could swiftly be implemented and would ensure the islands prosper as soon as they are free from the direct control of Tokyo. And he is in it for the long run.
“I joined the Ryukyu Independence Party when it was founded in May 1971, but I was already a firm believer that we should once more be free,” he told This Week in Asia, underlining his long-standing credentials by pointing out that his predecessor, King Sho En, “had ruled more than 300 years before George Washington became the first president of the United States”.
Born in Naha, the largest city in Okinawa, 68-year-old Yara owns a company that prints T-shirts. He divides his time between his hometown and Chiba for business reasons, but his spare time is spent devising policies and planning electoral strategies – and he counts off his fingers the reasons the Ryukyu Kingdom should once again be independent.
