Open lecture with Associate Professor Ra Mason, University of East Anglia (UEA)

Okinawa is a tiny island of huge geopolitical importance. Located between the tip of Japan's mainland and Taiwan, sovereignty over its outlying Senkaku/Diaoyu islets is contested by China. It hosts multiple major US military bases, which have played a contested and controversial role on the island. Okinawa's future is tied closely to the competing strategies over Taiwan, as well as being framed as a potential target for Chinese or North Korean missiles aimed at American military assets on the islands. In this revealing talk I explore why and how this island paradise and the waters around it could trigger great power conflict - and put forward suggestions for how it might be avoided.

Bio: Ra is Sasakawa Associate Professor of International Relations and Japanese Foreign Policy at the University of East Anglia (UEA). He was previously awarded a JSPS Fellowship to research nationalism in Okinawa at the University of the Ryukyus, before becoming Associate Professor of Public Policy at Tohoku University. Ra is Co-Chief Editor of  Japan Forum, the author of multiple books and leading journal articles, and a regular commentator for international media outlets.