The , formerly known as the , is a local

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, seeking an independent Ryukyu, the . The current party leader is . ''Kariyushi'' is Okinawan for "happy" or "harmony with nature".

History

The party was founded in June 1970, when Okinawa (called

Ryūkyū The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

at the time) was administered by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Founders included and , whose pseudonym was . Sakima was the former president of the Public Finance Corporation, a government financial corporation of the Ryukyu Government under US-control, while Nuka was a Chartered

Accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...

. Sakima became a candidate of the 1971

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, ...

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

, but failed it with 2673 votes. As Okinawa was returned to Japan in the next year, the party prestige was decreased. After

730 __NOTOC__ Year 730 ( DCCXXX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 730 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

, a symbolic moment on July 30, 1978, when Okinawa changed back to driving on left as other parts of Japan, the party virtually stopped its activity. On August 15, 2005, Chōsuke Yara, a president of the

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

store called Alice T-shirt Center, resumed the party, making himself as a new party leader. Nuka became an honorable party leader. Yara became the candidate of the 2006 Okinawa Prefectural Governor election, but failed with 6220 votes, or 0.93% of the entire votes. Critics believed this is because the vast majority of

Okinawans The Ryukyuan people ( ryu, 琉球民族 (るーちゅーみんずく), Ruuchuu minzuku or ryu, どぅーちゅーみんずく, Duuchuu minzuku, label=none, ja, 琉球民族/りゅうきゅうみんぞく, Ryūkyū minzoku, also Lewchewan or L ...

think the independence is unrealistic . On the other hand, the party was under adverse conditions, as it completely lacked name recognition or an electoral turf, and Yara resided in Tokyo, not in Okinawa. Some found the party gained surprisingly many votes despite these conditions. In fact, Yara's 6220 votes is 2.3 times more than Sakima's votes back in 1970, although Sakima was a celebrity at the time, while Yara is not. Consequently, the party declared victory of the 2005 election. Since Yara gained 1576 votes in

Naha is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area i ...

alone, the party hopes it may have a seat in the next Naha City Council member election, which will be held in 2009. (In the last City Council election, an election winner with the least vote gained 1841 votes.) In 2007, the PAFF, a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

freeter In Japan, a is a person who is unemployed or lacks full-time employment, excluding housewives and students. Freeters average 15 to 34 years of age. Freeters may also be described as '' underemployed''. These people do not start a career after ...

s (

part time Part Time (stylized as PARTIME) was an American pop band that was fronted by California-based musician David Loca (also credited as David Speck). Loca produced and wrote virtually all of the band's output, with most of their studio recordings c ...

workers) and foreign workers, alleged the party for breaking the Labor Standard Act and the Trade Unions Act, claiming it fired an officer without a proper reason. On March 3, 2008, the party changed its name to the current one.

Policies

The party ultimately seeks the independent Republic of Ryukyu, they pledge the following policies;The top page
of the party's official site, retrieved on June 16, 2008. *To make Okinawa distinct from

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

, in case Japan restructures the current

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

into states based on

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. *To lower the employment costs of civil officers. *To introduce a sightseeing tax to create the jobs of 5,000 people. *To create more jobs by Okinawa Longitudinal Subway with a shelter (like the one in

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

). *To introduce insurance for tourist agents. *To establish regulations to protect nature for tourism. *To offer jobs preferentially to native Okinawans. *To abolish the

value added tax A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the end ...

on foods. *To hold an international conference for armament reduction. *To teach unique Okinawan history. The party also claims the Northern Ryukyu Islands (

Amami Islands The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized on February 15, 2010. Prior to that, another name, ''Amami shotō'' (奄美諸島), was also used. is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest o ...

) are part of the Ryukyu Islands. It pledges to collaborate with Amami Islanders to create Amami Prefecture or to transfer the islands into Okinawa Prefecture.

International policies

The party claims it is "not Anti- US, Anti-Japan, or leftist". After the independence of the republic, they consider to negotiate with Japan and the US to create the military alliance between the three. If the negotiation fails, they may consider selling the current US bases by international auction. They claim

Senkaku Islands The are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, administered by Japan. They are located northeast of Taiwan, east of China, west of Okinawa Island, and north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands. They are known in main ...

, currently administered by Japan but claimed by the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

and the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, is Ryukyuan territory.尖閣列島は中国の領土か
(Is Senkaku Islands Chinese territory?), from the party's official website, retrieved on June 16, 2008. They claim to support other independence movements in

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

, namely those of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Party flag

The party's official flag is called ''Sansei Ten'yō-ki'' , literally ''the Flag of the Three Stars, the Sky and the Ocean''. The flag is designed by Nuka. The party also plans to use it as the flag of the Republic, should it gain independence. Navy and light blue (or ''blue'', according to the party) stand for the ocean and the sky on Ryūkyū. The white star shows morality and reason. The red star shows pride and passion. The yellow star shows peace and prosperity. The red and yellow stars have white borders, as the party put much faith in morality.

References

External links