True! But it's still an experience living in Japan. It may be different, but no one place in Japan is going to be the same as another place there. I don't think it's fair to discount SleekStylz's experiences in Japan because he/she lives in Okinawa.

All the Okinawans I met considered themselves Okinawans not Japanese. I thought this was strange, kind of like Taiwanese don't consider themselves Chinese.

The thing about living in Okinawa is that even though the culture here is different and the people here consider themselves as Okinawans and not Japanese, Its still Japan. So as much as they try to differenciate themselves here for the most part I can still see the similarities between them and people that come and visit here from mainland. Some people think Okinawa is country and sometimes they might be right but I just see everybody here as Japanese(excuse my ignorance if am wrong about this). I have visited mainland many times and the difference is very clear but living in Okinawa is an experience however different it might be, its still Japan. :)

I didn`t see anyone discounting the experience. Just making the statement that it is worlds away from mainland Japan. That is a fact. It is Japan, but it is unique within Japan.
Is it wrong to tell people that one place is going to be very much different than the rest?

Despite the actions recently by American servicemen, most anger is directed at mainland Japan not just because of the history of the Ryukyu kingdom, but because of the "Death with Honor" strategy in the closing days of WWII. Mainland Japanese commanders propagated the myth that Americans were such beastly devils that when they landed, they would kill all the men, rape all the women, and then eat the children. This seems utterly ridiculous to us, but after years of this message being propagated to the Okinawa people, they believed it. Those that didn't commit suicide out of fear, armed themselves and fought the incoming Americans: this included elementary, middle school, and high school students. It is estimated that nearly 250,000 Okinawans died as the direct result of Japanese policies in the Battle of Okinawa, and by the end of the war, resulted in a third of Okinawa's population being wiped out, many of those civilians or children. To put this in perspective, if I recall my numbers correctly, that is nearly twice the amount of people who died when Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima. Since Japanese commanders often used Okinawans as human shields up to the very end, once the Okinawan people saw that Americans were not devils, they were greeted as liberators, not as an occupying force.

It is unfortunate that the actions of individual service members, and political scheming by the ruling LDP and one of the recent governors of Okinawa, have severely eroded the goodwill of the Okinawan people towards the American people.

Wait. How did the LDP messed up Okinawa?

I didn't say they messed up Okinawa. What I said was they helped erode the goodwill of the Okinawan people towards the American people. Against the wishes of many Okinawans, the LDP and local politicians worked to keep American bases in Okinawa without engaging the people of Okinawa. This says nothing about my personal feelings on the bases themselves, just that I think it was unfortunate that the LDP did not deal directly with the people of Okinawa.

I saw an interview with a old lady who was a child when the Americans landed there. She talked about the same thing, that they were told the Americans would hurt the survivors. She said just the opposite happened. The Americans were very kind and fed them and gave the kids candy. She still is angry with the Japanese soldiers who told them that and she really loves Americans.

I know one thing for sure...Do not call an Okinawan person Japanese...some of them take offense to that.

It's fine if one were to simply say, "Your experience is different from my experience." However, look at what was said:


A: Hello everybody, Just moved to Okinawa...and am loving it. I saw this post and am just giving my opinion. I lived in NY, went to college out there and i loved it but Japan is not so bad. Yes things are expensive here but you wont hear me complaining, I live in a nice condo and have a decent car and am loving the the beach life...and that was my 2cents.

Kam


B: Okinawa is worlds away from mainland Japan

B's statement is presented as though to say, though you're on Japan, you're "worlds away" and so can't know what "mainland" culture is like. The word "mainland" is often used to say that one part of land is more important than the other. It's "main" and "land" put together, so it's an example in itself. So, yes, I do think that the statement is trying to discount A's experience in Japan.