Americans and Okinawans at Work: The Early Postwar Labor Market in Okina

Between 1945 and 1972, the U.S. administered a separate occupation in Okinawa, Japan's westernmost prefecture. Once an independent kingdom, Okinawa officially became a Japanese prefecture in 1879. Historians usually depict the U.S. occupation of Okinawa as a time when American political authority – and Americans – controlled Okinawan politics and economic life. A close examination of contemporary archival evidence, however, reveals a more complex story, where Okinawan women and men negotiated with the Americans to form an active labor market.

During the 1945 battle of Okinawa, more than 120,000 individuals, one-third of the population, lost their lives. When the U.S. military took control of the devastated region, the only source of food and clothing was material aid from the United States. Underfunded, U.S. authorities struggled to correct shortages and filthy living conditions. Skilled local workers were in short supply; language barriers and the rampant theft of military supplies further undermined their capacity. As a result, regardless of wartime experience, qualified residents found jobs in public offices and military bases. Thus, the postwar political purge was less severe in Okinawa than in mainland Japan. For some, this policy offered an opportunity to become postwar Okinawa elites. To improve local living conditions, in 1948, the U.S. military government replaced thousands of Philippine military base workers with native Okinawans in low-skilled jobs, even though it meant letting go of English-speaking employees. During the military construction boom around 1950, the U.S. authorities tripled the wages to encourage workers. The locals enthusiastically responded to this incentive, and the policy led to the first consumption boom in postwar Okinawa. This heavily regulated labor market under U.S. control has left a rich archival record. This study examines the emergence of the postwar labor market in Okinawa, the product of nuanced negotiations between the Okinawans and Americans.