Small island caught between big powers

Residents of the Japanese island see US bases as a legacy of war and colonialism, but younger generations also worry about a threat from China. — Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

KEIKO Itokazu can still remember the day in 1965 when the parachute didn’t open. It was attached to a jeep trailer that was dropped from an airplane, along with US paratroopers training near her home in Okinawa.

The plummeting object missed her but hit a nearby house, killing a fifth grade schoolgirl.