This event explores the U.S.-Japan alliance not only from the traditional lenses of security and political cooperation, but also through the often-overlooked perspectives of Okinawa, which plays a critical yet complex role as a strategic hub for the alliance. While discussions in Tokyo and Washington, D.C., frequently focus on high-level policy frameworks and geopolitical strategy, they tend to marginalize the voices and lived realities of the people most directly affected by the presence of U.S. military bases.