Abstract
The purpose of this article is to trace the evolution of sugar production in Okinawa under U.S. rule and
to position the issues that emerge from this as key to the study of the contemporary history of Okinawa.
The article first discusses the question of the significance of the island’s existence as a sugar-producing
region. During the postwar period in which Japan lost control of Taiwan and the South Sea islands, it was likely
that Okinawa would heighten its potential as a sugar-producing region. In fact, its sugar production expanded
rapidly in the early 1960s due to policies to increase domestic sugar production. However, after the Japanese
government took steps to liberalize sugar imports in 1963, the production of sugar in Okinawa began to decline,
accelerating the withdrawal of labor force from agriculture. It is thus obvious that the same problem that modern Okinawa faced as a sugar-producing region continued until the 1960s, and this should be positioned as a
key issue in the study of contemporary Okinawan history.
The second point concerns the labor force that withdrew from agriculture during the periods of contraction of sugar production. Of particular importance here is the issue of the expansion of low-wage labor and underemployment in the Okinawan labor market in the late 1960s, as female laborers who had left agriculture remained without employment opportunities. By focusing on this issue, it becomes possible to analyze the
relation between the agricultural problems during the period of U.S. occupation and the labor problems that ensued in the post-reversion eras.
https://ror.org/02z1n9q24 
