Cutting through an overload of information to get to the heart of the story.
This is The Point.
Welcome to The Point, an opinion show coming to you from Beijing, Anishin.
Okinawans or Ryokians as indigenous peoples?
For decades,
the Luka people of Okinawa in southern Japan have been advocating for their human rights as indigenous people to be guaranteed,
yet the Japanese government has failed to recognize the message against repeated calls from the Luka people from countries around the world and the United Nations.
What's the story?
In an exclusive investigation, I look for the answers to this very important question.
The prefecture of Okinawa has long been a favourite destination for tourists.
Yet few know that it once belonged to a long forgotten country, the Kingdom of Ryokyu.
So what exactly happened?
How did this country vanish from the face of the earth?
The Kingdom of Ryokyu was founded in the 15th century on the archipelago called the Ryokyu Islands.
Situated along the outer edge of East Asia,
these islands run parallel to China's southeastern coastline and form an arc stretching between China's Taiwan and Japan.
The word real Q comes from the Chinese word Liuqiu, meaning giant dragon.
Even before the kingdom was founded,
the local people established a tributary relationship with China's Ming dynasty in 1372.
During the following five centuries until 1866,