Abstract
After the end of the Pacific War, a program was initiated with the objective of dispatching young individuals from the US-occupied Okinawa to Hawaii under the title of “International Farm Youth Exchange Program”.
Concurrently, the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (USCAR), the governing authority
of Okinawa during that period, initiated many programs for sending Okinawans to various regions within the
United States, as well as to Taiwan and Southeast Asia, for the purposes of training and education.
The International Farm Youth Exchange Program distinguished itself from these programs in that the
existence of the Okinawan immigrants’ community in Hawaii played an indispensable role in both its establishment and execution. This paper seeks to initially elucidate the process by which Farm Youths were dispatched
from Okinawa to Hawaii during the period of US occupation. Furthermore, this paper will delve into the pivotal
role played by an individual called Baron Goto in fostering the relationship with the Okinawan community in
Hawaii, which was instrumental in realizing the objectives of the program.
Baron Goto, a person Japanese American residing in Hawaii, had achieved significant acclaim in the field
of agriculture and had held the position of Vice Chancellor at the East-West Center in Hawaii since 1962.
Founded in 1960 in Hawaii, the East-West Center served as an educational institution bridging the “East and
West” countries during the Cold War era. For the Farm Youths dispatched from Okinawa, this program not only
provided them with an opportunity to acquire agricultural skills in Hawaii but also to learn the American way of
life and values.
Furthermore, through their collaboration in this program, the Okinawan community in Hawaii not only
contributed to the postwar agricultural resurgence in Okinawa but also became an integral component of the
United States’ Cold War cultural diplomacy.
https://ror.org/025b2hx26 
