Katsuji Chinen, principal of Futenma No. 2 Elementary School in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, stands on its rooftop on Dec. 11. The U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma can be seen behind an evacuation center on the schoolyard. (Amane Shimazaki)
GINOWAN, Okinawa Prefecture Katsuji Chinen was deeply disturbed by the sight of elementary school pupils kicking around a ball without a care in the world.
Chinen, the principal of Futenma No. 2 Elementary School, was in his office in early December when he heard the familiar buzzing of an approaching helicopter from the nearby U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. The noise became so loud that he could no longer hear the voices of the 10 or so children who continued playing in the schoolyard.
Residents detained at an internment camp in Yomitan, Okinawa, on April 4, 1945 (Provided by Okinawa Prefectural Archives)
Even 75 years later, Yoneko Uehara can still hear her classmate disobeying an official s order to kill herself while facing enemy forces near the end of World War II.
The student, whom she remembers only as Tomiko, snatched a hand grenade away from the medical team head and shouted, “If you really want to die, you should do so alone. I do not want to die.”
During the Pacific War, which started 79 years ago on Dec. 8, citizens were told to commit suicide rather than be taken prisoner. This code of conduct resulted in a huge death toll from communal suicides and kamikaze attacks, since surrender was not allowed.
“A day of restoring pride as human beings”–naming and present-day significance of Koza riot debated at 50th anniversary symposium
Speakers offering their views at the symposium reflecting on the 50th anniversary of the Koza riot on the afternoon of December 13 at the Ryukyu Shimpo Hall in Izumizaki, Naha (photograph by Moriaki Kise)
December 13, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
As the 50th anniversary of the 1970 Koza Riot on December 20 approaches, the Okinawa Asia International Peace Art Project 2020 Steering Committee and the Ryukyu Shimpo held a “Symposium for Asking Questions on the 50th Anniversary of the Koza Riot” on December 13 at the Ryukyu Shimpo Hall in Izumizaki, Naha. Speakers Masaie Ishihara (Okinawa International University professor emeritus), Shoko Oshiro (Okinawa International University part-time instructor), Shokichi Kina (musician), and Jimmy Schwartz(former high commissioner specialist 1st class) discussed the significance of the Koza Riot and other matters.