Residents of the Japanese island see U.S. bases as a legacy of war and colonialism, but younger generations also worry about ...

the Battle of Okinawa is still at the forefront of the Okinawa people’s memories.” He included the word “Now” in the poem’s title “Now, Peace Asks” because of the war raging in Ukraine.

Just 350 miles from Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu, Okinawa was home to an ethnically diverse group of people. Many Okinawans had mixed blood, unlike their Japanese neighbors to the north.

They were later rescued along with many others in the waters off Okinawa. "People try to glorify wars and so forth. There's people that do outstanding things, but there's nothing really glorious ...