As the fourth in its series "Thinking About Ethnic and National Questions," the Society for the Studies of Nation Issues will hold the Special Lecture "Okinawa and Taiwan: Freedom and Peace at the Border." We have invited two speakers, one with roots in Okinawa and one with roots in Taiwan, to talk with each other in a dialogue format, drawing on their respective experiences and perceptions. No advance registration is required. In addition to students, faculty, and staff of the University, members of the public are welcome to attend.

Overview

Event	Series "Thinking About Ethnic and National Questions," Fourth Special Lecture "Okinawa and Taiwan: Freedom and Peace at the Border"
Date and time	Thursday, October 22, 2026, starting at 18:00
Venue	Room 308, Building 2, Komaba Campus, University of Tokyo (Right by the East Exit of Komaba-todaimae Station on the Keio Inokashira Line)
Speakers	Ms. Sorane Sakihama (first-year student, Keio University Law School) Mr. Liu Yen-fu (journalist, Toyo Keizai Inc.)
Fee	Free
Registration	Not required (please come directly to the venue)
Organizer	Society for the Studies of Nation Issues

About the Event

Are the Interests of Okinawa and Taiwan a Zero-Sum Game?

Now that alarms are being raised about a "Taiwan contingency," Okinawa and Taiwan are spoken of side by side almost exclusively in the context of security. But is there no way to protect, together, the freedom and peace of the people who live there?

From the Ryukyu Kingdom to Okinawa Prefecture; from Qing rule to Taiwan as a Japanese colony. Okinawa and Taiwan, incorporated into modern empires and placed on the front lines of war and the Cold War, share a history of having their borders drawn for the convenience of the center.

Okinawa's protest against the burden of the bases and its fear of "being made a sacrificial pawn once again." Taiwan's emphasis on maintaining the status quo, and the deterrence that this requires. Looking squarely at the gaps between their experiences and perceptions, the speakers, as people directly concerned, will talk together about the possibility of protecting each other's freedom and peace.

About the Speakers

Sorane Sakihama (崎浜 空音)

First-year student at Keio University Law School. In December 2024, she gave a speech as the representative of young people at the Okinawa prefectural citizens' rally protesting the sexual assault of a girl by a U.S. serviceman and calling for measures to prevent a recurrence. While sharing information about the Battle of Okinawa and the base issue on social media, she is active in "What is SOFA?", a group calling for revision of the Japan–U.S. Status of Forces Agreement.

Liu Yen-fu (劉 彦甫)

Journalist at Toyo Keizai Inc. Doctoral student at the Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hitotsubashi University. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1994, he completed a master's degree at the Graduate School of Political Science, Waseda University, and joined Toyo Keizai in 2018. His fields are the contemporary history of Taiwan, East Asian international relations, and the history of Japanese discourse on Taiwan. Special Research Fellow of the Japan Network of Researchers Supporting Taiwan Education (SNET Taiwan). Co-author of Tabi shite manabu Taiwan (Learning About Taiwan Through Travel; Iwanami Junior Shinsho).