Foreclosing a Japanese Hong Kong: Okinawa, 1967-1972

A massive inflow of foreign investment into Okinawa was imminent in the late 1960s, when U.S. multinationals were seeking to use the island’s reversion to full Japanese sovereignty as a stepping stone for entering the Japanese market. The Japanese government systematically scuttled U.S. business initiatives, and the U.S. government acquiesced in these policies. A unique opportunity to create a better economic future for Okinawa, as well as to increase the openness of Japan’s market, was lost.