The was the civil administration government in the Ryukyu Islands,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

(centered on

Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately long, an average wide, and has an ...

), replacing the United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands (itself created at the conclusion of World War II) in 1950, and functioning until the islands were returned to

in 1972.

History

The

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

describes USCAR's history thus:

Following signing of the Instrument of Surrender, 2 September 1945, Ryukyu Islands were administered by Department of the Navy, 21 September 1945 – 30 June 1946, with Commanding Officer, Naval Operating Base, Okinawa functioning as chief military government officer under authority of Commander-in-Chief U.S. Pacific Fleet. Transfer of administration from Department of the Navy to War Department authorized by Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) approval, 1 April 1946, of JCS 819/11, 5 March 1946, with added proviso of JCS 819/12, 22 March 1946. Pursuant to implementing instructions of General Headquarters U.S. Army Forces in the Pacific (GHQ AFPAC), Okinawa Base Command redesignated Ryukyus Command, effective 1 July 1946, by General Order 162, Headquarters U.S. Army Forces, Western Pacific, and made responsible for administration under a Deputy Commander for Military Government. Ryukyu Islands administered successively by Ryukyus Command, 1 July – 30 November 1946; Philippines-Ryukyus Command, 1 December 1946 – 31 July 1948; and Ryukyuan Command, 1 August 1948 – 15 December 1950. USCAR established, effective 15 December 1950, by a directive of Headquarters Far East Command (HQ FEC, formerly GHQ AFPAC), AG 091.1 (5 December 1950) RCA, December 5, 1950, implementing a JCS memorandum, SM 2474-50, 11 October 1950, directing Commander-in-Chief Far East, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, to organize a civil administration for the Ryukyu Islands in accordance with JCS 1231/14, 4 October 1950. USCAR continued to function under Department of the Army (formerly War Department), 1950–71. Amami Island Group of Ryukyu Islands was returned to Japan by the Agreement between the United States of America and Japan concerning the Amami Islands, signed 24 December 1953, and made effective 25 December 1953. USCAR abolished following entrance into force, 15 May 1972, of the Agreement between the United States of America and Japan concerning the Ryukyu Islands and the Daito Islands, signed 17 June 1971, by which the remaining island groups of the Ryukyu Islands, including the Okinawa Island Group, were returned to Japan.

After the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

in World War II, the United States Navy initially administered the Okinawa group while the other three groups came under Army control. On 18 July 1945, the Navy transferred control to U.S. Army Forces in the Pacific (AFPAC), but on 21 September assumed control again, organizing the United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands. Finally on 1 July 1946, the Army took control again, organising the Ryukyu Command from the previous Okinawa Base Command. On 1 January 1947, AFPAC was reorganised as Far East Command and a unified Ryukyu Command, including a military government apparatus, was placed under General Headquarters, Far East Command (GHQ FECOM), in Tokyo. In 1952, Japan signed the Treaty of San Francisco and admitted the control of Okinawa by the

U.S. government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

. 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. The official currency was the

B yen was a colloquial term used to refer to a form of military scrip used in post-war US-Occupied Okinawa from April 15, 1946, to September 1958."B yen." ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia"). ''R ...

from 1948 to 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 Japan.

Peace treaty specifications

Seal of High Commissioner of the Ryukyu Islands

Two important articles of the post-war peace treaty of 28 April 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 Daitō Shoto), Nanpō Shoto south of Sofu Gan (including the Bonin Islands, Rosario Island and the

Volcano Islands The or are a group of three Japanese-governed islands in Micronesia. They lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and belong to the municipality of Ogasawara, Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The islands are all active volcanoes lying atop ...

) and

Parece Vela , or Parece Vela, is a coral reef with two rocks enlarged with tetrapod-cement structures. It is administered by Japan with a total shoal area of and land area . Its dry land area is mostly made up by three concrete encasings and there is a st ...

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 17 June 1971, control of Okinawa was given back to Japan on 15 May 1972, and USCAR was abolished. This completed the disposition of this Japanese property by USMG.

Government system

The post of was created in 1950 and replaced in 1957 by the until 1972.

Governors and High Commissioners

Flag

The Criminal Code of Ryukyu restricted the flying of any national flags except the

flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rect ...

. The protesters against the Ryukyu government flew the Hinomaru, the

flag of Japan The national flag of Japan is a rectangular white banner bearing a crimson-red circle at its center. This flag is officially called the , but is more commonly known in Japan as the . It embodies the country's sobriquet: the Land of the Rising S ...

. Civil ships of Ryukyu flew an ensign derived from the International maritime signal flag for "D" instead of Japanese or American ensigns. The ensign changed to "Hinomaru below a triangular flag labeled "Ryukyus" and "琉球" (Japanese for "Ryukyu") in 1967.

References