The Influences of the Military Occupation of the United States on Okinawa and Japan

Abstract

This thesis looks at the Americanization process of Japan and Okinawa from 1945 until now. It will answer the question how the process of Americanization expressed itself differently in Japan and Okinawa and how it contributed to developments on a political and an economic level. The United States governed Japan after its surrender during World War II. As a consequence of the 1952 peace treaty of San Francisco, the United States left mainland Japan but remained in control over the island Okinawa, a small Japanese island. On Okinawa, the administration ruled for twenty years. In both regions, the United States’ administration changed certain aspects in the economic and political sphere. Nowadays, the American army is still present and still influences the Okinawan society. In a way that the Okinawan people have developed an aversion against ‘American’ and have created a desire to become Japanese.

Keywords: Americanization, Capitalism, Democracy, Ryukyu Kingdom, United States, Japan, Okinawa, World War II.