Ryan Yokota’s current research focus is on comparative transnational ethnic studies in both East Asia and in the U.S., with a focus on Uchinānchu (Okinawans) under Japanese and American colonialism, Asian Latin Americans and Asians in Latin America, and Japanese American/Asian American history. His previous research focused on Okinawan post-World War II nationalism and included a focus on movements for independence, movements for regional autonomy, and the current push to redefine Okinawan identity as indigenous.
Beyond his research work, Dr. Yokota is actively engaged in the field of public history and currently serves as the Development and Legacy Center Director at the Japanese American Service Committee. Most recently he served on the curatorial committee for the 2017 “Then They Came For Me: Incarceration of Japanese Americans During WWII and the Demise of Civil Liberties” exhibit at the Alphawood Gallery.
Publications
"Reversion-Era Proposals for Okinawan Regional Autonomy." In Beyond American Occupation: Race and Agency in Okinawa, 1945–2015, 59-79. Edited by Hiroko Matsuda and Pedro Iacobelli. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.
"The Okinawan (Uchinānchu) Indigenous Movement and Its Implications for Intentional/International Action." Amerasia Journal 41, no. 1 (Spring 2015): 55–73.
"Ganbateando: The Peruvian Nisei Association and Okinawan Peruvians in Los Angeles." In Transnational Crossroads: Remapping the Americas and the Pacific. Edited by Camilla Fojas and Rudy P. Guevarra Jr., 427–60. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2012.
"'Transculturation' and Adaptation: A Brief History of Japanese and Okinawan Cubans." Afro-Hispanic Review 27, no. 1 (Spring 2008): 91–104.
"Interview with Pat Sumi." In Asian Americans: The Movement and the Moment. Edited by Steve Louie and Glenn Omatsu, 16–31. Los Angeles: UCLA Asian American Studies Center Press, 2001.