was a Japanese academic and politician who served as the governor of Okinawa Prefecture from 1990 until 1998. After starting his career as a professor at the University of the Ryūkyūs, he wrote books in English and Japanese, mostly about the Battle of Okinawa and Japan–United States bilateral relations following World War II. After his retirement as professor he was elected as governor and was best known for his strong stand against occupation of prefectural lands by military bases of United States, going against the Japanese central government at the time.
Early life and academic career
Ōta was born on 12 June 1925 on Kumejima Island, Okinawa and his family migrated during World War II. He became a student at the Okinawa Teacher's College, and during the Battle of Okinawa he was drafted into the Japanese Army's "Iron and Blood Student Corps"; he saw intense combat and many of his classmates died. After the end of the battle, he spent some months in hiding before emerging to surrender. He was educated at the Waseda University, Tokyo earning a bachelor's degree in English and took a master's degree in journalism from Syracuse University, New York.
Political career
In March 1990, Ōta retired from the university and in November of the same year was elected governor of Okinawa prefecture on a non-party platform defeating the 12-year sitting governor Junji Nishime. His campaign was based on removing U.S. bases from the island to bring back peace. He also opposed the then proposed bill to provide Japanese troops for United Nations' peacekeeping missions. He had a distinguished record as a governor, outspokenly arguing for the interests of the Okinawan people against both the United States military establishment in the Ryukyu Islands and the Japanese central government. In 1995, he inaugurated the monument Cornerstone of Peace which commemorated more than 200,000 people who died in the Okinawa Battle, including U.S. soldiers. Upon his death, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga called him "an individual who energetically tackled Okinawa's base issues and (economic) development at a turbulent time."
- Okinawa no teiō, kōtō benmukan, Asahi Shinbunsha (1996)