Postwar Okinawa / Keywords in Postwar Okinawa 2/4

Sheets Policies
Maj. Gen. Joseph R. Sheets oversaw preparation and construction of the military facilities and bases on Okinawa. His policies also included the authorization of land rights, the discharge of unneeded land used by the military, the promotion of building private sector enterprises, establishment of bus services, and improvements in educational facilities. Maj. Gen. Sheets promoted the realization of postwar reconstruction in Okinawa. His tour of duty in Okinawa also resulted in the establishment of the University of the Ryukyus. He aggressively tackled the comprehensive organizational reforms, established the Ryukyu Military Headquarters, which ruled each of the Gunto district military governments, and reshuffled the military service members that were embroiled in the resistance of the residents of Okinawa. He reduced the power of the Gunto district military governments that had become a hindrance to the self-autonomy of the Okinawans.
However, despite being termed the " Good Governor Sheets," he laid the groundwork of his policies on the construction of the military bases and a permanent U.S. military presence and rule in Okinawa.
United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands
The U.S. government believed that a central government was needed to rule over the four Gunto district governments and so changed control of the ruling organization in Okinawa from the military government to the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (USCAR). The U.S. Civil Administration's business was handled by the officer in command of the Ryukyu Military Headquarters, who worked as Deputy Governor of the U.S. Civil Administration.
The Reversion of Amami Shoto Islands
The Amami Island Group was also separated from Japan after the end of WWII and came under U.S. military rule. The residents on the Amami Islands developed their own movement for reversion. Over 99.8% of the people signed petitions for reversion and they received over three hundred thousand signatures from mainland residents. They opened large protest rallies, and appealed to the United Nations and the U.S. president in a broad international effort for reversion. On December 25, 1953 Amami was returned to the mainland of Japan after eight years of U.S. government rule.
The Government of the Ryukyus Islands
Established under the will of the U.S. Civil Administration, the Government of the Ryukyus was a self-governing body with legislative, judicial and administrative rights. In terms of political power it was provisioned to exercise full power over the Ryukyus but, in actuality, it had to act in accordance with the U.S. Civil Administration and Ryukyu Military Headquarters.
Compulsory Land Expropriation
In order for the U.S. Civil Administration to conclude leases for the vast land it was using as bases, it promulgated its "right to lease" in November 1952. But the rental rates for the land were extremely low, about the cost of a bottle of cola for 29.7 square meters (9 tsubo) and the term of lease was twenty years. Many landowners did not respond. The lack of response prompted the U.S. Civil Administration to issue land expropriation laws in 1953, enabling it to unilaterally acquire land without the need for signed leases. It was an unreasonable and extraordinary measure to seize land from the residents.
Bayonets and Bulldozers
This term came into use to express the methods the U.S. military used to forcibly expropriate land. They expelled those who resisted eviction at bayonet point and, without allowing them to move out their goods, destroyed their houses with bulldozers.
Tokuju (Special Procurement)
This term usually meant a request for goods or services, excepting trade, made by the U.S. military. It helped the recovery of the sluggish domestic economy and allowed the Japanese economy to develop greatly. The building of the military bases was contracted out mainly to mainland Japanese construction companies as well as those from America, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Okinawa. In the case of the Japanese construction companies the government aggressively financed them and they occupied greater than half of those doing the construction and reaped great profits.
The Four Principles of Land Protection
After receiving the U.S. Civil Administration's announcement of lump sum payments for land use, the Legislature unanimously passed a resolution concerning "Petitions Relating to the Processing of Military Land." The details of the resolution came to known as "The Four Principles of Land Protection" and are as follows: 1. No lump sum payments, 2. Payment of appropriate compensation, 3. Payment for damages incurred from the U.S. military, and 4. Opposition to new land expropriation.
The Price Recommendations
In response to the submission of petitions from the delegation from Okinawa, a U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services committee dispatched Senator Melvin Price and a survey group to Okinawa. After only three days of observation the group returned home and issued a report stating the importance of the Okinawan military bases to the U.S. military in the Far East. For the Okinawans the report did not recognize the movement for self-rule, allowed the possibility of the bases for long-term use, and placed no limitations on the storage of nuclear weapons and the use of land by a foreign government. The recommendations were a shock to the hopes of the people because the report supported lump sum payments and new land expropriation to secure absolute ownership rights for U.S. military bases.
Off Limits
Off Limits decrees issued by the U.S. military prohibited U.S. servicemen, personnel and their families from going into civilian areas of Okinawa. They were decreed as a way to avoid trouble because of the protests and demonstrations staged by the Okinawans. However, it carried grave economic repercussions on a region with an economy that was dependent on the U.S. bases. The issuance of an Off Limits order was a cause of anxiety, particularly in the central region of mainland Okinawa with its concentration of bases.

Return Continue