United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands
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United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950–1972 | |||||||||
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| Status | Military occupation | ||||||||
| Common languages | Japanese Ryukyuan English | ||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||
| High Commissioner | |||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||
| April 1 – June 21, 1945 | |||||||||
• Founding of USCAR | December 15 1950 | ||||||||
• Returned to Japan | May 14 1972 | ||||||||
| Currency | B yen (July 1948 – Sep 1958) US dollar (1958–1972) | ||||||||
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The United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (琉球列島米国民政府, Ryūkyū-rettō Beikoku Minseifu), or "USCAR", was the government in Okinawa, Japan after World War II from 1950 until 1972.
Outline
After the Battle of Okinawa in World War II, the United States Navy initially administered the Okinawa group while the other three groups came under Army control. On July 18, 1945 the Navy transferred control to AFPAC[expand acronym], but on September 21 assumed control again, organising the United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands.[1] Finally on July 1, 1946, the Army took control again, organising the Ryukyu Command from the previous Okinawa Base Command. On January 1, 1947 AFPAC was reorganised as FECOM[expand acronym] and a unified Ryukyu Command, including a military government apparatus, was placed under GHQ FECOM in Tokyo.
In 1952, Japan signed the Treaty of San Francisco and admitted the control of Okinawa by the U.S. government.
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)[citation needed].
The official currency was the B yen from 1948–1958, when the B yen was abolished and the US dollar was brought into use. 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.
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 formal agreement reached on June 17, 1971, control of Okinawa was given back to Japan on May 15, 1972,[2] and USCAR was abolished. This completed the disposition of this Japanese property by USMG.
Government system
The post of Governor (民政長官, Minsei Chōkan) was created in 1950 and replaced in 1957 by the High Commissioner of the Ryukyu Islands (琉球列島高等弁務官, Ryūkyū-rettō Kōtō-benmukan) until 1972.
Governors
- General Douglas MacArthur 1950–1951
- General Matthew Ridgway 1951–1953
- General Mark Wayne Clark 1953
- General John E. Hull 1953–1955
- General Maxwell D. Taylor 1955
- General Lyman Lemnitzer 1955–1957
High Commissioners
- Lieutenant General James E. Moore July 4, 1957 – April 30, 1958
- Lieutenant General Donald P. Booth May 1, 1958 – February 12, 1961
- Lieutenant General Paul Wyatt Caraway February 16, 1961 – July 31, 1964
- Lieutenant General Albert Watson II August 1, 1964 – October 31, 1966
- Lieutenant General Ferdinand Thomas Unger November 2, 1966 – January 18, 1968
- Lieutenant General James B. Lampert January 28, 1968 – May 14, 1972
Flag
The Criminal Code of Ryukyu restricted the flying of any national flags except the flag of the United States[3] The protesters against the Ryukyu government flew the 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.[citation needed] The ensign changed to "Hinomaru below a triangular flag labeled Ryukyu" in 1967[4][5]
See also
References
- ^ Eiji Takemae, The Allied Occupation of Japan, p.123
- ^ Reversion to Japan of the Ryukyu and Daito Islands, official text
- ^ "琉球刑法並びに訴訟手続法典（一九五五年） Criminal code of Ryukyu 1955" (in Japanese). Retrieved December 8, 2007.
- ^ "沖繩船舶旗問題（昭和42年 わが外交の近況） Okinawa Ships issue (Our diplomacy 1967)" (in Japanese). Retrieved December 8, 2007.
- ^ "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" (in Japanese). Retrieved December 8, 2007.