What are the United States ongoing strategic interests in Okinawa?

How do modern Okinawans themselves, including politicians, civil society organizations, businesses, and ordinary citizens, perceive those interests?

What is being done to reconcile a large and ongoing U.S. military presence on the island with demands for greater local control over the current conditions and future destiny of the Okinawan people?

What are the burdens of that presence and what is being done by both U.S. and Japanese authorities to reduce them?

In comparison to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, why is Okinawan history related to WWII not as well known?

How is Okinawan history related to WWII and its consequences portrayed in US and Japanese textbooks? What are some of the “historical gaps” in both of these discourses?

What are the economic benefits of US military presence in Okinawa?

Stepping away from the Euro-American-centric perspective, we will get firsthand stories of the local Okinawans, from survivors of WWII, American soldiers on the base, military officials, ministers (of tourism), professionals in studying this field from universities, political officials, business directors, to the youth: how does the presence of the military base shape their own lives and the institutions and organizations they represent?

How has postwar Okinawa become the thriving place it is today? Despite an ugly history, how did the people of Okinawa come together to create a unified sense of community? What factors played into the harmonization/de-harmonization of the people of Okinawa?

What does it mean to create a culture of peace in Okinawa? Is there resentment that must be overcome between local Okinawans and American soldiers? With or without the continuing presence of the military base, what can we do to keep upholding the culture and history of Okinawa? What does it mean to realize social justice on this island?

How have Okinawan perceptions of the US military changed/ not changed since WWII? Has the base ever been a protector of the locals, or has it been more of a threatening presence than a peaceful one? Is mainland Japan’s relationship to the US military bases different from that of Okinawa’s?

A cultural study in the shift of Okinawan identity. What does it mean to Okinawans today in comparison to its definition during the war and its recovery?

The gap in historical knowledge between generations. How has the dark side of Okinawa's history still been kept hidden?