Jon Mitchell – författare

In this devastating exposé, investigative journalist Jon Mitchell reveals the shocking toxic contamination of the Pacific Ocean and millions of victims by the US military.For decades, US military operations have been contaminating the Pacific region with toxic substances, including plutonium, dioxin, and VX nerve agent. Hundreds of thousands of service members, their families, and residents have been exposed—but the United States has hidden the damage and refused to help victims. After World War II, the United States granted immunity to Japanese military scientists in exchange for their data on biological weapons tests conducted in China; in the following years, nuclear detonations in the Pacific obliterated entire islands and exposed Americans, Marshallese, Chamorros, and Japanese fishing crews to radioactive fallout. At the same time, the United States experimented with biological weapons on Okinawa and stockpiled the island with nuclear and chemical munitions, causing numerous accidents. Meanwhile, the CIA orchestrated a campaign to introduce nuclear power to Japan—the folly of which became horrifyingly clear in the 2011 meltdowns in Fukushima Prefecture. Caught in a geopolitical grey zone, US territories have been among the worst affected by military contamination, including Guam, Saipan, and Johnston Island, the final disposal site of apocalyptic volumes of chemical weapons and Agent Orange.Accompanying this damage, US authorities have waged a campaign of cover-ups, lies, and attacks on the media, which the author has experienced firsthand in the form of military surveillance and attempts by the State Department to impede his work. Now, for the first time, this explosive book reveals the horrific extent of contamination in the Pacific and the lengths the Pentagon will go to conceal it.

In this compelling history of Japan's southernmost prefecture, Okinawa, award-winning journalist, Jon Mitchell, illustrates the long history of indigenous Okinawans' subjugation by Japan and the United States, and how they have responded with one of the most resilient pacifist movements on the planet.Once the thriving Ryukyu Kingdom, an independent state which grew rich from maritime trade between China, Japan, and southeast Asia, the islands were annexed by Japan in the late-nineteenth century – then sacrificed in 1945 to delay an Allied assault on the mainland. After the war, Okinawa was abandoned to US colonial rule for 27 years, during which residents were denied civil, labour, and democratic rights. Responding to these injustices, Okinawans engaged in widespread non-violent resistance which paralleled the African American civil rights movement unfurling at the same time in the United States. Okinawan protests grew so strong that, in 1972, they forced the return of the islands to Japanese control. But despite residents' wishes, the US military presence remained largely unchanged, accompanied by crimes, accidents and damage to the environment. Today, there are 31 US bases in Okinawa, which has a land mass half the size of Rhode Island, and Okinawans are the poorest people in Japan. In recent years, China has exacerbated tensions in the region, questioning Japan's control of Okinawa and dispatching ships to the disputed Senkaku Islands. Many Okinawans are angry at being pawns in the play of greater powers – whether Japan, the United States or China. Resistance continues to permeate Okinawan society, from mass protests and marches, to music, comedy and art. Okinawa offers a model of democratic participation and civic engagement for the rest of Japan and beyond.

In this devastating exposé, investigative journalist Jon Mitchell reveals the shocking toxic contamination of the Pacific Ocean and millions of victims by the US military.For decades, US military operations have been contaminating the Pacific region with toxic substances, including plutonium, dioxin, and VX nerve agent. Hundreds of thousands of service members, their families, and residents have been exposed—but the United States has hidden the damage and refused to help victims. After World War II, the United States granted immunity to Japanese military scientists in exchange for their data on biological weapons tests conducted in China; in the following years, nuclear detonations in the Pacific obliterated entire islands and exposed Americans, Marshallese, Chamorros, and Japanese fishing crews to radioactive fallout. At the same time, the United States experimented with biological weapons on Okinawa and stockpiled the island with nuclear and chemical munitions, causing numerous accidents. Meanwhile, the CIA orchestrated a campaign to introduce nuclear power to Japan—the folly of which became horrifyingly clear in the 2011 meltdowns in Fukushima Prefecture. Caught in a geopolitical grey zone, US territories have been among the worst affected by military contamination, including Guam, Saipan, and Johnston Island, the final disposal site of apocalyptic volumes of chemical weapons and Agent Orange.Accompanying this damage, US authorities have waged a campaign of cover-ups, lies, and attacks on the media, which the author has experienced firsthand in the form of military surveillance and attempts by the State Department to impede his work. Now, for the first time, this explosive book reveals the horrific extent of contamination in the Pacific and the lengths the Pentagon will go to conceal it.