Okinawa no Tami

Shimamori Tower

Together with Shimada Akira (Hagiwara Masato), the last appointed governor of Okinawa during the war, Arai Taizo (Murakami Jun), the chief of police of Okinawa Prefecture, goes beyond his duties and strives to protect the lives of the citizens of the prefecture. As the ravages of war intensify, the two, who each carried a heavy cross during the Battle of Okinawa, desperately devote themselves to saving the lives of the Okinawan people, with the belief that "life is precious." A human drama, set in Okinawa at the end of World War II, depicting the preciousness of human life. Directed by Igarashi Sho of One Step on a Mine, It's All Over.

Tsushima Maru: Goodbye, Okinawa

A documentary anime retelling the shipwreck of the freight boat Tsushima Maru, which was carrying 836 schoolchildren home in July 1944 when it was attacked and sunk by an American submarine. Produced by the surviving family members of the Tsushima Maru.

Flying Leathernecks

Major Daniel Kirby takes command of a squadron of Marine fliers just before they are about to go into combat. While the men are well meaning, he finds them undisciplined and prone to always finding excuses to do what is easy rather than what is necessary. The root of the problem is the second in command, Capt. Carl 'Griff' Griffin. Griff is the best flier in the group but Kirby finds him a poor commander who is not prepared to make the difficult decision that all commanders have to make - to put men in harm's way knowing that they may be killed.

Star Sand

In the closing days of World War II, Japanese-American Hiromi, a girl age 16, encounters an American deserter, Bob, and a Japanese soldier, Iwabuchi, living together in a cave on a small island in Okinawa. The two men are deserters from their armies; yet both vow never to harm another human being again. Hiromi looks after the deserters until another soldier appears and the peace of the cave is shattered. It leads to the death of three of them and a fascinating mystery that isn't solved until the present day.

Battle of Okinawa in Color

By mid-1945, Hitler is dead and the war has ended in Europe. Halfway around the world, however, the fighting is still going strong on a small island in the Pacific. Okinawa was the site of the last battle of the last great war of the 20th century, with a casualty rate in the tens of thousands. Through it all, military cameramen risked their lives to film the conflict, from brutal land combat to fierce kamikaze attacks at sea. See the footage they captured and experience this intense battle the way the soldiers saw it -- in color.

Hacksaw Ridge

WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious Objector in American history to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

沖縄健児隊

The Battle of Okinawa

The Americans are swiftly closing on Okinawa, an island just south of the Japanese mainland. The Imperial command sends top generals and several army divisions to defend it at all costs. The mission quickly degenerates as vital resources and troops are diverted to other islands. After a civilian evacuation ends in tragedy most of non-combatants are forced to remain on the island. Many convert to soldier status. Tokyo sends mixed messages that squander time and resources, as when they order the defenders to build an airstrip for aircraft that never come. The truth soon becomes obvious: the high command decides that the island cannot be held and effectively abandons the Okinawan defenders. When the Americans land many troops are deployed in the wrong places. As the slaughter mounts, a suicidal attitude takes hold. Okinawa becomes a death trap, for civilian volunteers and non-combatants as well.

Okinawa

On the eve of their return to the states, the crew of the U.S.S. Blake is unpleasantly surprised when their new captain, Lt. Commander Hale, announces that they've been reassigned to the upcoming invasion of Okinawa. With the news turning the crew against him, Hale must rise to the occasion to keep his men inline.

The Great Okinawa Yakuza War

Chiba, looking gnarly, and acting as animalistic as ever, stars alongside Matsukata as violent gangsters battling their way through fight after bloody fight with rival yakuza on the streets of Okinawa.

Boy Soldiers: The Secret War In Okinawa

The greatest taboo of the Battle of Okinawa were Guerrilla units composed of boy soldiers. Until now, not even the Japanese people knew the full scope of these secret troops, and survivors have been afraid to share their tragic details. Okinawa became the bulwark to protect the Japanese mainland toward the end of World War II. After the Americans landed, a violent battle ensued resulting in the loss of over 200,000 lives – many of them civilian. This documentary uncovers Japan’s deepest secrets concerning the Battle of Okinawa, and also sounds alarms about modern Japan’s recent steps toward remilitarization.

A Far Shore

Aoi has dropped out of high school and gives birth to a baby son with her husband Masaya. They live in Okinawa, the Southern island of Japan where they were both born. To make ends meet, she starts working as a night-club hostess. Masaya loses his job and cannot deal with the family’s responsibilities. Their immaturity and dependence aggravate the relationship and continuous fights lead to a social downfall. Aoi’s bond with her son sets her on a path to find solutions.

Boiling Point

Masaki, a baseball player and gas-station attendant, gets into trouble with the local Yakuza and goes to Okinawa to get a gun to defend himself. There he meets Uehara, a tough gangster, who is in serious debt to the yakuza and planning revenge.

Untamagiru

A magical realist story of the legendary Okinawan hero Untamagiru participating in efforts to form an independent Okinawa before the island was returned to Japan in 1972.

All About Lily Chou-Chou

Charts the troubled teenage years of students Yūichi Hasumi and Shūsuke Hoshino, exploring the shifting and complex power dynamics of their relationship against the backdrop of Yūichi's love for the dreamy and abstract music of pop star Lily Chou-Chou.

Henkan kōshōjin: Itsuka, Okinawa o torimodosu

In 2010, while covering the issue of the "secret agreement" at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the author came across diplomatic documents relating to the reversion of Okinawa and was particularly impressed by the handwritten documents of Kazuo Chiba, then Director of the North American First Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which, unlike ordinary bureaucrats, "stood out from the crowd and seemed unique". The name of Chiba subsequently appeared in a number of documents left by former Prime Minister Eisaku Sato's secretary, and the author became interested in finding out what kind of person he was.

Breathe In, Breathe Out

Breathe In, Breathe Out centers on six, later seven, individuals who have gotten jobs harvesting sugarcane on a small Okinawa island. Each worker has their own unique personality as well as their own issues as they learn to work together...

The Karate Kid Part II

Summoned by his dying father, Miyagi returns to his homeland of Okinawa, with Daniel, after a 40-year exile. There he must confront Yukie, the love of his youth, and Sato, his former best friend turned vengeful rival. Sato is bent on a fight to the death, even if it means the destruction of their village. Daniel finds his own love in Yukia's niece, Kumiko, and his own enemy in Sato's nephew, the vicious Chozen. Now, far away from the tournaments, cheering crowds and safety of home, Daniel will face his greatest challenge ever when the cost of honor is life itself.

Sonatine

Murakawa, an aging Tokyo yakuza tiring of gangster life, is sent by his boss to Okinawa along with a few of his henchmen to help end a gang war, supposedly as mediators between two warring clans. He finds that the dispute between the clans is insignificant and whilst wondering why he was sent to Okinawa at all, his group is attacked in an ambush. The survivors flee and make a decision to lay low at the beach while they await further instructions.

Himawari -Okinawa wa Wasurenai, Ano Nichi no Sora o-

After an American helicopter crashes into a classroom in Okinawa International University, student Ryuichi is compelled to write a report on a similar accident 52 years ago, in 1959, when an American jet fighter crashed into his grandfather's elementary school. He also plans to hold a peace concert.