A senior U.S. diplomat equated Okinawans with Puerto Ricans using racial stereotypes

Evidence

Okinawa was colonized by Japan in 1879, he said, and a lot of the American bases there stem from the U.S. occupation of Japan after World War II. So Okinawa sits in an “interesting triangular relationship” with Japan and the United States. “This is not a politically correct way to say it,” Maher added, “but, as a man in Okinawa told me, it’s the Puerto Rico of Japan.” Like Puerto Ricans, he said, Okinawans have “darker skin,” are “shorter,” and have an “accent.” — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 824

Categorization

• SHARE: Would send to someone studying how official diplomatic rhetoric performs colonial hierarchies; the Maher quote is a damning primary source.