Gendered Representations of Post-colonial Okinawa in Japanese Mainstream Media : A Thematic Analysis of the TV Drama Fence (2023)

Abstract

This thesis examines the Japanese TV drama Fence (2023), conducting a thematic analysis, specifically on its representation of the post-colonial reality in Okinawa that is influenced by the two imperial powers, Japan and the United States. The focus is on how the drama represents Okinawan women and sexual violence towards local women by U.S. military personnel. Despite there being more than 50 years since Okinawa’s reversion in 1972, such incidents still occur frequently. On June 25th, 2024, two major local news stations RBC and OTV reported that a 25-year-old U.S. military serviceman was charged with kidnapping and raping an Okinawan girl who was a minor in December 2023. Following the first report, it emerged that there were at least five cases of sexual assault by U.S. military personnel from December 2023 to June 2024, none of which was reported to Okinawa Prefecture. Activists have increasingly focused on human rights issues since the 1995 assault of a 12- year-old girl by three servicemen. From 1972 to 2023, 6,235 cases of military-involved crimes have been reported. 586 cases were heinous crimes including sexual assault. By unpacking the complicated intersectional power relations depicted through the handling of sexual violence and highlighting the role of cultural, historical, and social factors in shaping the portrayal of local women, this research provides a critical lens on how post-colonial influences persist in contemporary media and offers insights into the broader implications for challenging or reinforcing existing stereotypes and narratives in mainstream media.