Discussion 6

What do you think are some of the impacts of being labeled as spies, or national traitors by the state and military for internal relations within Okinawan society? How do you think this impacted Okinawans’ treatment/views toward Korean women who were brought to the islands as “comfort women” beginning in 1941?

Being labeled a spy or a national traitor has many impacts on an individual person. One example could change a person’s identity and social position, especially so when living in Okinawa or any East Asian country in general. It largely has to do with the fact that the social ideology of the east is collectivism. An individual’s life does not belong to the individual him/herself. Instead, he/she belongs to the community. Any action done by the person or done to a said person is reflected upon their family and in general the community. When a person is labeled a spy or a traitor, that aspect will be reflected negatively by the person’s family and community, no matter if the accusation was true or not.

Another example of an impact is fear and violence on the person. In Okinawan society, military law and labeling “spy” signifies the stretch in the military and political power the government has people. Violence is the main aspect which the Japanese state, in the context, monopolizing (122). It gets the people to be complacent in following the military law.

When applying this idea to the treatment of Korean women as “comfort women”, the monopolization of violence is one key factor in order to force complacency on them to follow, or else, they’ll be labeled as a spy and traitor to the nation.