Base Crimes and Voting Patterns in Okinawa: Are There any Links?

Authors

Ryan M. Scoville, Brigham Young University
Dr. Ray Christensen, Brigham Young University

Keywords

violent crimes, voting patterns, Okinawa, elections, native population

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Political Science

Abstract

Over the past few decades, U.S. soldiers stationed on the Japanese island of Okinawa have committed a large number of violent crimes against the native population. Even a terse glance at the news should reveal that these crimes—including rape and murder—do not go unnoticed by the Okinawan people. Protesters decried the frequency of base-related crimes at the 2000 G-8 Summit in Okinawa, and activists today continue to voice their outrage whenever an American serviceperson breaks local law. Noticing this opposition, I set out to determine whether or not Okinawan citizens take their outrage to the polls. Specifically, I wanted to find out if baserelated crimes affect the voting patterns of Okinawan citizens and use the discoveries as primary source information in my honors thesis.

Recommended Citation

Scoville, Ryan M. and Christensen, Dr. Ray (2014) "Base Crimes and Voting Patterns in Okinawa: Are There any Links?," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2014: Iss. 1, Article 294.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2014/iss1/294