On Socio-economic Changes in a Bridged Island

A Case Study on Hamahiga-jima, Okinawa

Abstract

Japan is an “islands nation”, consisting of 6, 852 islands by the definition of the Japanese government. These islands, particularly small and remote from the mainland, had suffered severe depopulation after World War II. In addition, economic gap between the mainland and these remote islands have so expanded during the Japanese high economic growth, which began in late 1950s. So the government, for the purpose of reducing the gap, passed the “Remote Islands Developing Act” in 1953, and have made financial support to the islands revising the Act for five times. This must have in fact achieved some success, but small and remote islands in Japan still have been one of less developed areas.
In this paper, we should examine the case of a remote island in Okinawa, Hamahiga-jima, where a fixed link to the mainland Okinawa-Honto accomplished in 1997, and named Hamahiga-Ohashi. The bridge was aimed to build for the development of Hamahiga-jima.
Discussion here is made about the effect of the bridge for the inhabitants in relation to socioeconomic changes in the island after the bridge opened. And it is true that, although there are some problems remained, traffic facilities have much ameliorated. But, on the other hand, traditional society of the island —which include thick social relations between the inhabitants and diversified livelihood that depend on the surrounding sea— has notably turned down. It is not so clear that to which extent this turn-down relates to the opening of the bridge, but we can appreciate that the original aim of the fixed link has not realised in Hamahiga-jima.