18/03/2026
琉球人權衛士Byron Fija先生視像參與IPLSA於日內瓦主辦的「軍國主義與擴張主義時代下的人權」發言：
《內容》
Distinguished members of the United Nations, it is a pleasure to meet you for the first time.�My name is Byron Fija.�I teach the Okinawan language, and I am a Ryukyu restoration activist.
Today, I would like to speak about Ryukyu, also known today as Okinawa Prefecture.
First, I would like to explain something to the members of the United Nations that politicians and the media in Okinawa rarely talk about.�Okinawa Prefecture is a colony of Japan. Unless we begin with this understanding, it is impossible to properly understand issues such as the U.S. military bases and the situation of the Ryukyuan people.
There is one major misunderstanding within Japan. It is something that many people in Japan misunderstand, and even many Okinawan residents and Ryukyuan people themselves misunderstand it.�We are not Japanese. We are Ryukyuan people.
However, this understanding is not widely shared.
At the same time, we are residents of Okinawa Prefecture and we hold Japanese nationality.�People who hold Japanese nationality are considered Japanese citizens. Therefore, although I am not ethnically Japanese, I am a Ryukyuan person.
Among the Ryukyuan people, Okinawans are the majority, but there are also the peoples of Amami, Miyako, and Yaeyama, and each of them has its own independent language.�I am not Japanese. I am Ryukyuan, and more specifically I am Okinawan, which we call Uchinānchu.
However, since I only hold Japanese nationality, I am also considered a citizen of Japan.�Therefore, nationality does not equal ethnicity. In Japan today, nationality and ethnicity are often confused and mixed together.
For example, the Ainu people also hold Japanese nationality, so they are Japanese citizens. But they are not ethnically Japanese.�Within the state of Japan live the Ainu people, and within the same state live the Ryukyuan people. Unless we begin with this basic understanding, the issue of U.S. military bases cannot be properly understood.
What I would like you to understand is that the Ryukyuan people were once citizens of an independent country called the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Before 1879, there was a complicated history.�In 1609, the Satsuma domain of Japan invaded Ryukyu. From 1609 to 1879, for about 270 years, Ryukyu maintained a tributary relationship with China, while being secretly controlled by Satsuma from behind the scenes. This created a very distorted historical situation that could be described as a semi-independent state.
However, before 1609, Ryukyu was truly an independent country.�The first official history of the Ryukyu Kingdom, called Chūzan Seikan, was written in 1650 by Haneji Chōshū. It records the genealogy of the kings, and the first king listed is King Shunten, who ascended the throne in 1187.
From 1187 until 1609, Ryukyu functioned as a truly independent kingdom.�In 1387, during the Ming Dynasty, China sent envoys to Ryukyu and established a tributary relationship. From that time until 1609, Ryukyu maintained good relations with China as an independent country.
After 1609, however, Satsuma controlled Ryukyu from behind the scenes.�Satsuma did not completely annex the Ryukyu Kingdom because it wanted to exploit the profits from Ryukyu’s tributary trade with China. If China had discovered that Satsuma directly ruled Ryukyu, the tributary relationship would have been cut off. Therefore, Satsuma allowed Ryukyu to appear as an independent kingdom while secretly controlling it.
In total, from King Shunten until 1879, the Ryukyu Kingdom existed for about 692 years.
In 1879, Japan abolished the kingdom and established Okinawa Prefecture.�Japan directly ruled the islands for 66 years.
In 1945, Japan lost World War II to the Allied powers, and the United States took control of the Ryukyu Islands. From 1945 to 1972, the U.S. military directly governed the islands for 27 years.
From 1879 until today, 2026, for approximately 150 years, the voices of the Ryukyuan people have never truly been heard, and the system of Okinawa Prefecture has been imposed upon us without our consent.
What I want to emphasize is this: whether it is U.S. military bases or Japanese Self-Defense Force bases, all of these decisions were made by Japan and the United States without the consent of the Ryukyuan people.
Our sovereignty, our right to self-determination, and even our history, education, culture, and language have been taken away by Japan.
Therefore, the so-called “U.S. base problem” is not originally our problem. These bases were brought here by Japan, and the United States continues to maintain them here.
The Ryukyuan people have never invited the U.S. military to our land, and we have never asked Japan to turn the Ryukyu Kingdom into Okinawa Prefecture as part of Japan.
As of 2026, the rights and human rights of the Ryukyuan people continue to be deprived through the actions of Japan and the United States.
Earlier I said that I am a Ryukyuan restoration activist. I use the word “restoration,” not “independence.”�What I hope for is the restoration of a democratic Ryukyu state, not a monarchy.
Activists like myself are extremely rare among the Ryukyuan people. Many people simply treat what I say as the strange opinions of one individual.
However, throughout history, many movements for human rights have begun with a single voice.
Therefore, even if I stand alone, I wish to bring this issue before the United Nations. I also hope that members of the international community, including representatives such as those from Hong Kong, will come to understand the true history of Ryukyu and the reality that the human rights of the Ryukyuan people have been taken away.
Thank you very much.
