(edo heinrich-sanchez) okinawa was the place of the bloodiest battle in japan, the battle of okinawa. the okinawans were kind of caught in the middle between the japanese and the u.s. forces. a lot of the older okinawans feel that the americans, the g.i.'s, had treated them very well until time went on, and they were here. so it turned from a force that perhaps liberated them from the situation, to an occupation force. you might have seen and heard that here in okinawa, you have many people that are demonstrating against the military basis. but it's amazing to where people will be demonstrating, but then they'll be going to a barbecue with their american neighbours. so people in okinawa have a really good relationship with americans, with the u.s., and they have overwhelming patience on this ongoing situation. (emily manco) i don't know if you notice, but the y plates, that is all americans. "y" for "yankee". that is how you know if it is an american or if it's a local japanese. so we are identifiable with our car. - you are kidding! - yes. so that's how you know, these are all locals

there's a very strong american presence in okinawa.d after the second world war, they stayed. there's a very big military presence. the fact that these old enemies coexist on this tiny island, but coexist peacefully, says a lot about the people of okinawa.

. >> the kingdom exited in present day okinawa until the end of the 19th century when entertaining foreignsts serving dishes of local ingredients. this restaurant has been carrying on the tradition for six decades. noriko has been working there since her 20s. she became the fourth generation head chef. >> translator: i tried to cook with the utmost care and serve high-quality dishes. >> noriko's relative opened the restaurant in 1958 when okinawa was still under american occupation. the restaurant has continued using time-tested cooking methods based on her hand-written recipe. it requires more time and effort than most people can dedicate at home. one of the best-known dishes is called minudaru. it's pork covered with black sesame paste and steamed. cooks grind sesame seeds for an hour and a half or more. the manual grinding maximizes the fragrance. the restaurant's special has been worn down by years of use. the pork sits in the sesame paste for several days in the refrigerator then it is steamed. the time and effort put into preparation are essential elements of the tradition. >> transl

there's a very strong american presence in okinawa.ccupy the island after the second world war, they stayed. there's a very big military presence. the fact that these old enemies coexist on this tiny island, but coexist peacefully, says a lot about the people of okinawa.

okinawa experiencing record breaking heavy rain for the month of march.leet is falling in place like fukushima prefecture. those areas were hit by a strong earthquake the other day. continuing the north, 80 centimeters in the high elevation in tokyo. rain could continue into the morning hours and then there is a chance for thunderstorms in late afternoon. 7 for the highs and beijing. bangkok at 35 degrees. a santand sand storm hit one of driest places in the world. covering the area with a thick cloud. the storm caused more than 9,000 homes to lose power. in addition, roads wer blocked because of rain and hail in the region and 75 homesere damaged. talking about sand, sand from the sahara, sand from algeria covers most of portugal and spain and turning orange. hot weather expected many places in western europe, the warm weather will affect kyiv late this weekend and next week. that's it for me, stay safe. ♪ >> that's all for this edition of nhk u"newsline," thank you fr watching and do stay with us for more. ♪ >>> this is newsline biz, i am gene otani. po

ryan, 25-year-old from minnesota served 2 years with the marines in okinawa. >> i want to help these people. >> reporter: oscar from sweden has no military training. >> we're here. hopefully it will be over before we need to fire a bullet. that's the best for everyone. if that's what it comes to, we'll be there. >> reporter: david, 33 from canada says he can help fix tires to keep ukrainian military vehicles on the ground. >> if it's black, round, maybe of rubber, i can fix it. one of the most important parts of the gears of war are to keep things moving. >> some of them don't need this training. some do. some are being told by the military, some remain in this military unit. they can't go to the war. >> reporter: one additional concern, the risks of deploying and arming thousands of foreign fighters around the country. >> they might be dangerous because such people are always dangerous, but we try to check them. we try to check everybody over. we try to check their past. >> reporter: one definite and urgent need for the ukrainian military are volunteers with combat experience. >> yo

brian, a 25-year-old from minnesota, says he served two years with the marines in okinawa, japan. >>e, i will. >> reporter: oscar from sweden has no formal military training. >> we're here to help people. hopefully, it's going to be over even before we need to fire a bullet or save someone with medical resources. you know? that's the best for everyone. b if that's what it comes to, we will be there. >> david, 33, from canada, says he can help fix tires to keep ukrainian military vehicles on the road. >> if it's black and round and made of rubber, i can fix it. and one of the most important things of the gears of war is keeping it moving. >> reporter: all volunteers get at least some training but while some can contribute on the battlefield, others may never see combat. >> some of them don't -- don't need this training. and some do. and some of -- i -- as i am being told by -- by the military, some of them remain there in -- in the -- in this unit, in this military unit because they -- they are not apt to -- to this military service and they -- they just -- they can't go to this -- to

brian, a 25-year-old from minnesota, says he served two years with the marines in okinawa, japan. >>o die to help these people, i will. >> ogs car from sweden has no formal military training. >> we're here to help people. hopefully it's going to be over before we reach the fronts, before we fire a bullet or save someone with medical resources. that's the best for everyone. if that's what it comes to, we'll be there. >> david, 33 from canada, says he can help fix tires to keep ukrainian military vehicles on the road. >> if it's black and round and made out of uber, i can fix it. one of the most important things of the gears of war is keeping it moving. >> all volunteers get at least some training. while some can contribute on the battlefield, others may never see combat. >> some don't need the training and some do. as i have been told by the military, some of them remain there in this unit, in this military unit because they are not apt to this military service and they can't go to the war. >> one additional concern, the risks of deploying and arming thousands of foreign fighters arou

he told us he's a veteran of the war in afghanistan, we met a marine, served a couple of years in okinawa, he said he's going in, he's willing to die to protect the ukrainian people. we met a group of marines, former marines who are also veterans of afghanistan and iraq now missionaries there to do combat medical support, a tremendous need. and we met a young nurse, a travel nurse, 25 years ole, from missouri, and she's in there right now, risking her life, to help protect the ukrainian people. it is remarkable. you have a lot of folks talking, right, about support for ukraine, and that's important. but you have a lot of folks putting their lives on the line there now. i should say, john, there are some concerns, right, because not every one of the volunteers who goes in has really truly valuable experience. you have some who are real combat vets, some that have never seen combat before and that's the job of the ukrainian military to make a decision, right, who can contribute on the battlefield, and who cannot? what they don't want, they don't want weekend warriors coming in, they want tr

experiences in the war through a prism of memory and history as he travels from the south pacific to okinawa as a civilian after the war so he goes back to all these old battlefields and basically recounts the history of the pacific war while also, you know taking you through the trajectory of his own life. effectively, you know effectively following both the marine corps trajectory in the war. but also his own in sort of exploring the traumas that those things cost himself and the nation at large. you know bringing the larger history the war into the narrative allows him to widen the scope of his experiences into an examination of the era and how its moments were defined by those aspects. regarding world war two he wrote. to fight and world war two you had to have been tempered and strengthened in the 1930s depression by struggle for survival. in 1940 two out of every five draftees have been rejected most of them victims of malnutrition. you had to know that your whole generation unlike the vietnam generation was in this together that no strings were being pulled for anybody. the four roose

brian, a 25-year-old from minnesota, says he served two years with the marines in okinawa, japan. >>vid, 33, from canada, says he can help fix tires keep ukrainian military vehicles on the road. >> if it's black and round and made out of rubber, i can fix it. and one of the most important things are the gears of war are keeping it moving. >> reporter: all volunteers get at least some training, but while some can contribute on the battlefield, others may never see combat. mattie, another member sky's medical team, a travel nurse from missouri. near help and willing to put her life on the line to do it. as she has done in iraq. >> yeah, a little bit. but i just -- i'm -- i just have a heart for these people. i really want to help them. >> jim, shah very much for that. putin's invasion is raising deep concerns in the united states about the fate of americans imprisoned in russia. brian todd is on the story for us. what are you learning about the latest push to bring these americans home? >> biden administration officials say they are working very hard behind the scenes to get these thre

he is first cousin who i'm named after was kind of adopted when his mother died on okinawa and we always got the flag out. veterans day, you name it, it was on our house. very proud of the united states. my mom was the same way, and if they were democrats. what i'm getting at is there was no sense of conservative or rural democrats and they were very strong civil rights advocates. i can remember when i was 12-years-old we got in the car to go all the way up to the cathedral to hear martin luther king's speech. my mother detoured because she found a list of african-american people who might not have access and would have to take the bus. we picked up three women who we fitted a very small car. the eight of us and drove in. we didn't know where to park at that time. we walked all the way up. it was over packed. when the doors started to close, my mom literally pushed me in and i was the only one of the party that got to hurt him speak. they were classical liberal, and this idea that today you cancel somebody else because you don't agree with them or you tear down statues without a consensu