Okinawans were often labelled as being spies or traitors to Imperial Japan during World War 2. This would lead to widespread resentment of Japan by the Okinawans during the Battle of Okinawa. Ichiro Tomiyama, in his article “‘Spy’: Mobilization and Identity in Wartime Okinawa”, states that the Okinawan language was used by Okinawan soldiers to communicate their struggles during war and that “…the Okinawan speech and resentment of the battlefield must be understood as a ground from which Okinawans reject the surveillance and violence of capitalist society” (Tomiyama, 2000, pg. 131). By being labelled as spies by their country of Imperial Japan, the Okinawans were able to strengthen their internal relations as they were able to communicate their greviances in their native language of Okinawan. This shared resentment served to unify Okinawan soldiers in resistance against the racialized violence employed against them by Imperial Japan. I personally feel that Okinawan soldiers would sympathize with Korean women brought to their island as “comfort women” as both groups were victims of the violence of Imperial Japan.
