About 30 minutes after the verdict was announced, I called Aoyama in Taiwan, and assumed the worst. “So, was at a loss in the end?” I asked.

Aoyama replied: "It was a complete victory. It’s hard to believe, but I won. With remorse for my father, I would like to affirm the high court’s decision. This judgement has surpassed the continuous negative outcomes.” He expressed his gratitude for the judgement with some excitement.

The 228 Massacre of February 28, 1947 was a historic event that changed the fate of postwar Taiwan. It contributed to the growth of Taiwan’s local consciousness, and led to the rise of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan independence movement. However, there has been little discussion in either postwar Taiwan or Japan about the number of Japanese killed in the incident, that is, those from Okinawa.

In the 50 years before the end of World War II, Okinawa and Taiwan were both part of the Empire of Japan. Following the Meiji Restoration, Okinawa, then known as the Ryukyu Kingdom, became a part of Japan in 1879 under Nanshin-ron, or the “Southward Expansion Doctrine.” The Ryukyu Kingdom was abolished and replaced by Okinawa Prefecture. Following Japan’s victory over the Qing court in the Japan-Qing War (known as the First Sino-Japanese War in the West), Taiwan was ceded to Japan in 1895.

Economically, Taiwan had achieved a higher level of economic development under Japanese rule than Okinawa. As a result, many Okinawans came to Taiwan to work or migrate through various forms, such as fishing, agriculture, domestic help and so on. There were also close maritime exchanges between Taiwan and Okinawa, especially the Yonaguni and Ishigaki Islands. Of the Japanese who lived in Taiwan at that time, a slight majority were from Okinawa Prefecture, and had become semi-localized to Taiwan.

The background to the 228 Massacre — which began with the beating of a woman selling black market cigarettes and led to a popular uprising — was widespread resentment towards the corruption and incompetence of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in taking over Taiwan from Japan. Intense protests rose up all across the island. But then KMT troops from China landed in Keelung and massacred thousands without a proper trial or investigation.

Among them were Okinawans who remained in Taiwan. They were suddenly confronted with the Mandarin Chinese used by KMT soldiers, and could not understand the language. They were implicated and killed by the KMT without rhyme or reason. In particular, the Okinawan settlement located on Heping island in Keelung (then known as Sheliao island), was believed to have been the site of violent ethnic cleansing and was likely to have involved the entire settlement. Some researchers put the death toll at 30, but the truth is unknown.

Aoyama Keisho was born on Heping Island, to father Aoyama Esaki (青山惠先) of Kagoshima Prefecture, and mother Misumi Tokeshi (渡慶次美江) of Okinawa Prefecture. Aoyama Keisho left Taiwan when he was young and has almost no memory of being there. At the end of the war, Aoyama’s father was on a military expedition in Vietnam. In 1946, his mother cooperated with the KMT's Japanese repatriation policy, and returned to Kagoshima with young Keisho in tow. However, in a strange combination of circumstances, Aoyama Esaki, who knew nothing about the KMT's repatriation policy, returned to Keelung after being repatriated to Japan. Then, the 228 Massacre erupted, and he was never seen again.