Residents of Okinawa Prefecture continue to be at the mercy of armed forces many decades since World War II, said Takeshi Yamaguchi, an expert working to share testimonies of war survivors in the southernmost prefecture.

Survivors wish for the island prefecture to never become a battlefield again, said Yamaguchi, professor of social studies education at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa.

The prefecture hosts many U.S. military bases, following its occupation by U.S. armed forces after Japan's defeat in the Battle of Okinawa in the closing days of World War II.