Teacher education issues in Okinawa

Okinawan people have retained their social, cultural, and political characteristics as well as their ethnic identity, which are different from that of the mainstream Japanese population. Because of this, Okinawans are often treated as cultural others from the majority Japanese. Nevertheless, the Government of Japan does not recognise Okinawans as Indigenous people. This chapter describes how Okinawan’s unique culture was disregarded upon colonisation by Imperial Japan and, particularly, how Okinawans have gradually re-asserted their identity through education from a period of adaptation to the majority Japanese teacher education system to a post–Second World War self-identity system, which transitioned through ‘rehabilitation mode’ under US rule, ‘standardisation mode’ after reintegration with Japan, and ‘localisation mode’ since 2010s. The chapter presents the outcomes of a study on current teacher education issues.