美军基地引燃冲绳独立辩论
In a decrepit office below a billiard hall in the city of Naha, capital of Okinawa in southern Japan, a small group is dreaming of a new country.
在日本南部冲绳(Okinawa)首府那霸(Naha)一间台球厅下面的一个破旧办公室里，一小群人正在梦想着建立一个新的国家。
Surrounded by flags showing three stars on two bands of blue, symbolising the Okinawan sea and sky, they represent a revived movement for the Ryukyu Islands, which include Okinawa, to declare independence from Japan.
这些人是主张琉球群岛（包括冲绳）从日本独立出去的复国运动的代表。四周悬挂的旗帜上是两条蓝色色带（一深一淡），象征着冲绳的海洋和天空，色带上面有三颗星。
“Support for Ryukyu independence is growing,” says Chousuke Yara, a perennial electoral candidate for the movement. “People are coming to understand that Okinawa was originally part of the Ryukyu kingdom, then invaded by Japan and made Japanese by education.”
琉球复国运动的常年选举候选人屋良朝助(Chousuke Yara)表示：“人们逐渐开始支持琉球独立运动。人们开始明白，冲绳最初是琉球王国的一部分，后来被日本侵略，通过教育才实现日本化的。”
The movement has a long way to go — a recent poll of islanders put support for independence at just 8 per cent. But another 21 per cent back full devolution and 88 per cent want greater self-determination — a sign of a growing alienation from the rest of Japan that could have profound consequences for regional security.
琉球复国运动还有很长的路要走——最近对岛上居民的调查显示，支持独立的比例只有8%。但还有21%支持全面分权，88%希望拥有更大的自决权，这是与日本其他地区疏远加剧的迹象，可能对地区安全具有深远的后果。
The Ryukyu chain, which stretches in a 1,000km arc from Taiwan to the Japanese mainland, are a natural barrier between China and the Pacific. The island of Okinawa is a cornerstone of the US military presence in Asia, with US bases covering about 20 per cent of its land area.
琉球岛链(Ryukyu chain)是一条从台湾延至日本本土的长达1000公里的弧形岛链，是中国和太平洋之间的天然屏障。冲绳岛是美国在亚洲军事存在的基石，美军基地大约占到该岛陆地面积的20%。
There is a range of opinions on security in the independence movement, Mr Yara says. But his vision of a nonaligned and pacifist republic would send shivers down the spine of any US military planner.
屋良朝助表示，独立运动中有许多关于安全的观点。但他提出的创建一个不结盟的和平主义共和国的愿景，将让美国军方规划者不寒而栗。
“The Ryukyus and China have always had a friendly relationship, so there’s no reason to think the current Chinese regime would trouble us,” he says. “For example, if Japan were picking on us, we could have a military alliance with Taiwan or China, or the opposite, we could ally with the US and Japan.”
他说：“琉球和中国始终关系友好，因此没有理由认为当前的中国政权会为难我们。例如，如果日本为难我们，我们可以与台湾或中国结成军事联盟，反过来，我们也可以与美国和日本结盟。”
Resentment over the US bases has been a running sore in relations between Okinawa and the mainland following incidents such as the rape of a local schoolgirl by US servicemen in 1995 and the crash of a US helicopter in 2004. Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, wants to relocate the controversial helicopter base at Futenma to Henoko Bay in the north of the island, but locals want the base shut or moved off the island altogether.
在1995年美国军人强奸当地一位女学生和2004年一架美国直升机坠毁等事件发生之后，对美国驻军的不满一直是影响琉球和日本本土关系的隐痛。日本首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)希望将有争议的普天间(Futenma)直升机基地迁至冲绳岛北面的边野古湾(Henoko Bay)，但当地人希望关闭基地或者将基地彻底搬出冲绳岛。
Takeshi Onaga, Okinawa’s popular governor, recently revoked a permit for building a new base at Henoko. Last week Mr Abe took out a court injunction against Mr Onaga and resumed construction. Elderly protesters outside the site at Henoko were dragged away by police after Mr Abe’s decision.
人气极高的冲绳县知事翁长雄志(Takeshi Onaga)最近撤销了在边野古新建一处美军基地的许可。上周，安倍对翁长雄志申请了法庭禁令，重启新基地的建设。在安倍做出决定之后，边野古法庭外的老年抗议者被警方拖走。
“I can’t restrain my furious resentment,” says Mr Onaga, elected last year on a mandate to oppose relocation of the Futenma base to Henoko. “The coercion continues.”
去年以反对普天间基地迁至边野古为竞选平台当选的翁长雄志表示：“我无法克制自己的满腔怒火。高压政治在继续。”
Masaaki Gabe, a professor at the University of the Ryukyus, agrees that Okinawans feel distant from the government in Tokyo. “People feel Japanese but they also have feelings of discrimination by the Tokyo government,” he says.
琉球大学(University of the Ryukyus)教授沃步正明(Masaaki Gabe)也认为，琉球人对东京政府感觉疏远，“人们认为自己是日本人，但他们也有一种被东京政府歧视的感觉”，他表示。
Another incident like the rape or the helicopter crash could change feelings towards independence, he adds. “If there was a big event, and it wasn’t handled to the satisfaction of the Okinawan people, then it could have serious effects.”
他补充称，再发生一起强奸或者直升机坠毁之类的事件可能改变人们对独立的态度。“如果发生一起重大事件，处理结果又没有让冲绳人满意，那么就可能造成严重影响”。
The dispute over the US bases is the most significant issue between Okinawa and the mainland but the island is diverging from Japan in other ways. With Japan’s highest birth rate, its population is ageing more slowly. And unlike on the industrial mainland, the island economy is growing fast.
围绕美军基地的争执是冲绳和日本本土之间最重大的问题，但该岛与日本也存在其他差异。这里的生育率是日本最高的，其人口的老龄化较为缓慢。而且，与早已工业化的日本本土不同，冲绳经济正在迅速发展。
Asian tourists are drawn by Okinawa’s blend of subtropical beauty and urban culture: visitor numbers rose 10 per cent last year to more than 7m, with the number of Chinese tourists more than doubling.
亚洲游客被兼具亚热带美景和都市文化的冲绳吸引：去年游客数量增长10%，至700多万人，其中中国游客数量增长一倍多。
Okinawa is also trying to promote its strategic location to business as a potential logistics hub. The economy’s dependence on the military bases is down to about 5 per cent. “We’ve gone from being an economy that relies on bases to the bases holding us back,” said Masaki Tomochi, an economics professor at Okinawa International University and a leading light in the independence movement.
冲绳也在努力向企业推介其作为潜在物流枢纽的战略位置。该岛经济对美军基地的依赖已降至5%左右。冲绳国际大学(Okinawa International University)经济学教授、独立运动核心人物友知正木(Masaki Tomochi)表示：“我们的经济过去依赖美军基地，现在则是这些基地阻碍了我们的发展。”
Mr Tomochi, who can see the Futenma base from his office, went to Scotland last year to support its campaign for independence from the UK and came back inspired. Okinawa was invaded by the Satsuma samurai in 1609, six years after King James I united the thrones of England and Scotland.
从友知正木的办公室可以看到普天间基地。去年他曾前往苏格兰支持其脱离英国的独立运动，回来后深受鼓舞。在詹姆斯一世统一英格兰和苏格兰6年后的1609年，冲绳遭到萨摩武士的入侵。
“Discrimination is not just in the past, it’s today — we’re still being discriminated against,” he says. “First we need everyone to know the history of the Ryukyus. Then we can think about the future.”
他说：“歧视不只发生在过去，还发生在今天——我们仍在遭受歧视。首先我们需要每个人都知道琉球的历史，然后我们才可以考虑未来。”
