United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands

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This article is about the U.S. Occupation government in Okinawa; for the earlier, native royal government, see Ryūkyū Kingdom.
United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands
Military occupation
←
1945 – 1972 →

Flag of Ryukyu Islands

Flag
Location of Ryukyu Islands
Capital Not specified
Language(s) Japanese, Ryukyuan
Political structure Military occupation
Historical era Cold War
 - Battle of Okinawa April 1–June 21, 1945
 - Treaty of San Francisco April 28, 1945
 - Returned to Japan May 14, 1972
Currency B Yen(1945-1958)United States dollar(1958-1972)

The United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands was the government in Okinawa, Japan after World War II until 1972.

Contents

[edit] Outline

After the Battle of Okinawa in World War II, the armed forces of the United States occupied Okinawa and set up a local government. In 1952, Japan signed the Treaty of San Francisco and admitted the control of Okinawa by the U.S. government.

The United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (USCAR), which was a subordinate organization of the forces of the United States, surveilled the Ryukyuan Government and could overrule all the decisions made by the Ryukyuan Government. Technically speaking, USCAR was thus a civil affairs administration of the United States Military Government (USMG).

[edit] Peace treaty specifications

Two important articles of the post-war peace treaty of April 28, 1952 are the following.

Article 3: Japan will concur in any proposal of the United States to the United Nations to place under its trusteeship system, with the United States as the sole administering authority, Nansei Shoto south of 29 degrees north latitude (including the Ryukyu Islands and the Daito Islands), Nanpo Shoto south of Sofu Gan (including the Bonin Islands, Rosario Island and the Volcano Islands) and Parece Vela and Marcus Island. Pending the making of such a proposal and affirmative action thereon, the United States will have the right to exercise all and any powers of administration, legislation and jurisdiction over the territory and inhabitants of these islands, including their territorial waters.

Article 4b: Japan recognizes the validity of dispositions of property of Japan and Japanese nationals made by or pursuant to directives of the United States Military Government in any of the areas referred to in Articles 2 and 3.

After a referendum, on May 15, 1972, control of Okinawa was given back back to Japan, and USCAR was abolished. This completed the disposition of this Japanese property by USMG.

[edit] Government system

The government consisted of the legislature, the administrative body, and the courts. The members of legislature were elected. The legislature often had conflicts with USCAR. The head of the administrative body was assigned by USCAR (1952–60), assigned the leader of the dominant party of the legislature (1960–66), elected in the legislature (1966–68), and elected by the citizens (1968–72). The legislature made its own laws.

The official currency was the United States dollar. The government printed Ryukyuan postage stamps and passports. Cars drove on the right in contrast to the main islands of Japan. The island switched to driving on the left in 1978 to bring it in line with the rest of Japan.

[edit] Flag

Civil ensign of Ryukyu
Civil ensign of Ryukyu

The Criminal Code of Ryukyu restricted the flying of any national flags except the Flag of the United States [1] The protesters against the Ryukyu government flew Hinomaru, the flag of Japan. Civil ships of Ryukyu flew an ensign derived from International maritime signal flag "D" instead of Japanese or American ensigns. The D ensign was not well-known internationally, so the Ryukyuan ships were sometimes seized. The ensign changed to "Hinomaru below a triangular flag labeled Ryukyu" in 1967[2] [3] .

[edit] References

  1. ^ 琉球刑法並びに訴訟手続法典（一九五五年） Criminal code of Ryukyu 1955 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  2. ^ 沖繩船舶旗問題（昭和42年 わが外交の近況） Okinawa Ships issue (Our diplomacy 1967) (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  3. ^ 那覇　泊港?那覇港?　全琉船舶に新船舶旗掲揚 1967年7月1日 All Ryukyuan ships hold new civil ensign at Tomari port or Naha port in Naha, July 1 1967 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-12-08.

[edit] See also

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