Book launchThursday 6 March 2025
6:00pm – 7:00pm
Okinawa: Great Power Competition and the Keystone of the Pacific
13/14 Cornwall Terrace, Outer Circle (entrance facing Regent's Park), London NW1 4QP
Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
Okinawa is a tiny island of huge geopolitical importance. Located between the tip of Japan’s mainland and Taiwan, it hosts key US military bases, which have played a contested and controversial role on the island. In addition, the sovereignty of some of Okinawa’s outlying territory is disputed by China and its future is tied closely to the competing strategies over Taiwan. It is also a potential target for North Korean missiles aimed at American military assets on the islands. In discussion of this compact and revealing book, Ra Mason explored why and how this island paradise and the waters around it could trigger great power conflict.
Okinawa: Great Power Competition and the Keystone of the Pacific can be purchased online here: agenda publishing | Okinawa
PRESENTATION slides BY RA MASON
A recording of this event can be viewed here:
About the contributor
Ra Mason
Ra Mason (Sasakawa Associate Professor of International Relations and Japanese Foreign Policy, UEA) is an internationally recognised specialist in the international relations of Japan, with a specific focus on Okinawa. Ra’s monograph, Japan’s Relations with North Korea and the Recalibration of Risk, was highly acclaimed by specialists in the field and was followed by coauthorship of further breakthrough books. He has held posts at multiple universities in Japan and the UK and is a regular contributor to major international news media and specialist outlets.