The brutal rape of a twelve-year-old Okinawan girl in 1995 enraged the local population and led to a chain of unprecedented events, which endangered the relationship between the US and Japan. International media soon reported on the outrage as merely an expression of anti-US sentiments, but although the violent crime was acted out by three US servicemen, Tokyo was to receive the blame. Igniting Identity reveals a hidden meaning of the raped girl as a powerful symbol of identity and challenges the notion of Japan as an homogenous nation. Strommen explores how Okinawans emphasize post- material...