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English Release of Susumu Higa's Okinawa Manga Delayed Due to Censorship Issue with Chinese Printer

ICv2 reported on August 16 that Mangasplaining and Fantagraphics Books delayed their English release of Susumu Higa's Okinawa manga to August 22. Mangasplaining's Christopher Woodrow-Butcher told the publishing news website the China-based printer the company had originally hired wanted to delete all references to Taiwan in an interview with the creator that was included in the manga. The printer had also wanted to remove references to China's actions in World War II.

Mangasplaining and Fantagraphics Books delayed the release in order to find a different printer to work with. The manga was originally slated to launch in July.

MSX: Mangasplaining Extra describes Okinawa:

The first project, Susumu Higa's Okinawa, was originally published as two thematically linked manga: Sword of Sand and Mabui. Okinawa begins as a chronicle of the particular impacts of the war on the Okinawan people, caught between the invading American forces and the Japan that annexed their once-independent nation only a few decades earlier. Rooted in that difficult history, the second half of Okinawa explores the present-day echoes of that war, which continue to affect the lives of the archipelago's residents. It's a gripping, powerful work, told in stand-alone chapters that can be easily read and appreciated on a weekly basis. Okinawa will be serialized 2 to 3 times per month, with a print collection planned for release in Winter 2022 from Fantagraphics Books.

Jocelyne Allen translated the manga for the Mangasplaining newsletter and Patrick Crotty was in charge of lettering. Andrew Woodrow-Butcher was the editor. Fantagraphics Books published the manga in English in January 2019.

Source: ICv2 (Brigid Alverson)