Japan's Defenses On Okinawa | Dw Documentary

Eighty years after the end of World War II, Japan is reinforcing its defenses on Okinawa as tensions rise in the region. The island sits close to Taiwan, where China has stepped up military drills, making it a strategically vital location.

The U.S. has kept major bases on Okinawa for decades. But the connection goes back further. During World War II, the Battle of Okinawa was so devastating that U.S. planners expected even higher casualties in a mainland invasion—one factor behind the decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In the war's aftermath, Japan adopted a pacifist constitution that renounced the right to wage war. That stance began to shift in 2014, when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reinterpreted Article 9 to permit collective self-defense, allowing Japan to respond if an ally is attacked. Since then, Japan's Self-Defense Forces have steadily expanded.

Watch the full documentary “New alliances in East Asia?” on the DW Documentary YouTube channel.

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