5th International Conference on Okinawan Studies
Imagined Okinawa: Challenges from Time and Space

ISHIHARA Masaie (Okinawa International University)
The Imperial Army's Operations Disclosed in WWII in Okinawa

On 10 March 1945, 100,000 people perished in one night in the firebombing of Tokyo. In August of this year (2006), the "Tokyo Firebombing Bereaved Families Association" filed a group compensatory damage suit against the Japanese government for "official compensation" and an "official apology which makes clear the war responsibility of the government." All of Okinawa became a combat zone during the war, and the scale and enormity the incredible devastation wrought by the battle should put the residents of Okinawa first in line for any "official apology" or "official compensation." However, so long as the expression "group self-termination" continues to be used, it will be impossible for the bereaved families of Okinawa to file any compensatory damage suits. The reason for this can be seen in Japanese government documents in which civilian "group self-termination" is defined as "residents who terminated their lives voluntarily in the spirit of sublime self-sacrifice so as not to interfere with (Japanese) soldiers engaged in combat." This definition is used as one criterion for qualification for assistance under the "War Fatality, War Casualty, and Bereaved Family Assistance Act" (Assistance Act, hereafter). Citizens who died by officially defined "group self-termination," whether soldiers or newborn babies, are granted enshrinement in the Yasukuni Shrine, where their souls will receive eternal comfort, and will be memorialized as national heroes of the highest order. Their bereaved family members may then receive economic assistance in the form of pension payments. In order to satisfy the qualifications of the Assistance Act, the deceased who had "enthusiastically supported the war effort" of the Imperial military are designated as "combat participants" and treated as having "quasi-military" status. Unlike the plaintiffs in the "Tokyo Firebombing Bereaved Families Association," the bereaved families of those granted "combat participant" status lose the right to sue the government for compensatory damages, and have no need to do so.
Accordingly, the crux of the problem of using the term "group self-termination" to describe the Okinawan battle victims is that it allows the Japanese government and the Imperial military to evade taking responsibility for the war. In other words, when recording the oral history of war experiences, or when relaying ones own experiences, use of the expression "group self-termination" is not a trivial choice of words. Rather, it implies acceptance of the "unified military-civilian front" mythology, which is based upon "Yasukuni ideology." Thus, unless a clear distinction between the concept of "group self-termination" as delineated in the Assistance Act and the concept of "compulsory group suicide" (military murder by proxy), an accurate depiction of the civilian casualties of the battle of Okinawa will not be possible. Now let's analyze the problem in a bit more detail.