Prolonged Occupation Through Law

This book examines the law of occupation, including the legal issues surrounding any forms of military occupation and similar domination of territory and people abroad. It achieves this through a comprehensive analysis of the legal basis of the U.S. occupation of Okinawa.

The book begins with a discussion of the legal frameworks under international and U.S. law relating to the occupation and other forms of administration of foreign soil. It then examines the drafting process of various ‘constitutional’ orders issued by the U.S. military for Okinawa during and after World War Two. Covering the whole period of the U.S. administration, the book captures the formation of highly contested legal arguments for external governance during the transition period of 1949-1957, as well as the institutional reforms under the Kennedy administration in the 1960s. The analysis of legal developments contextualizes the Okinawa issue in the current legal discourse on foreign occupation, self-determination and post-colonialism. The theoretical implications of residual sovereignty and its effect on the relationship between the Japanese government and the people of Okinawa in the modern day are also discussed.

Examining the factors that facilitated the military rule of Okinawa by the U.S. in the context of international law development, this book will interest scholars of international law, international relations, postcolonial studies, and Asian studies.

Author Biography

Kyo Arai is Professor of International Law at the Faculty of Law, Doshisha University, Japan. He is an associate editor for the Japanese Yearbook of International Law.