Anime’s fiction mirrors reality of Okinawa’s fear

[unhappycamper]

In "Blood+," a Japanese anime recently released by Sony Pictures, the American military on Okinawa,operates with a heavy hand even outside the bases.


Anime’s fiction mirrors reality of Okinawa’s fear
By David Allen, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, October 15, 2008

CHATAN, Okinawa — There’s a scene in a popular Japanese anime that seems to reflect the attitude of some of the most ardent opponents of U.S. bases on Okinawa.

In the beginning of "Blood+ Volume One," a Sony Pictures DVD that Army and Air Force Exchanges have recently begun selling, there’s been a series of serial killings on Okinawa where the victims have been drained of their blood. In the latest incident, at a high school in Okinawa City, the U.S. military takes over the crime scene and spirits away the victim’s body and other evidence.

When a reporter for an Okinawan newspaper interviews a Japanese expert in forensic science who reviewed the evidence before it was seized, there’s the following exchange concerning the U.S. military’s involvement in the case:

~snip~

In the show, the U.S. military attempts to quash rumors that something more sinister is occurring on the island. It announces that a Marine with drug and alcohol problems has been arrested for the murder. He’s taken into military custody and little more information is available to the public and the press.

The heavy-handedness of the American military in the series could be a reflection of how many Okinawans feel about the presence of the U.S. bases, which cover about 21 percent of the prefecture’s main island, said Masaaki Gabe, professor of international relations at the University of the Ryukyus.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58138