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Oral History of Broadcasting Start from Scratch:

Living the Broadcasting History of Post-War Okinawa

Chosei Kabira, Former President of Okinawa Hoso Kyokai (OHK) [Okinawa Public Broadcasting System]

December 2018

Isao Yoshida Kyoko Hirotani

NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute Media History Research

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Abstract

The series “Oral History of Broadcasting” has been conducting interviews with an aim to trace the history of broadcasting from the testimonies of people involved in broadcasting by adopting the research methodology of oral history. This paper features the broadcasting history of post-war Okinawa. After WWII, Okinawa came under the direct rule of the U.S. military forces and was totally detached from the mainland Japan in terms of politics, economy, and legal system, which was extended to social and cultural aspects. Broadcasting history was no exception: how it began and how it developed was entirely different from that in the mainland Japan. In the ruins where broadcast function had been completely lost, a radio broadcast service was launched from scratch by the U.S. military and gradually evolved into an established entity while being tossed up and down by the Japanese and U.S. governments as well as social landscapes. Here is a person who has been deeply involved in the process, experiencing each critical stage: Chosei Kabira, former President of Okinawa Hoso Kyokai (OHK) [Okinawa Public Broadcasting System].

Mr. Kabira is a rare figure who has been involved in broadcasting all the way from the launch of broadcasting in the post-war period to the reversion of Okinawa to Japan.

This paper focuses on how Chosei Kabira thought and acted at each phase as an individual broadcaster and what prompted him to do so, as an attempt to vividly elucidate the history of broadcasting in Okinawa.

Introduction

The series “Oral History of Broadcasting” has been conducting interviews with an aim to trace the history of broadcasting from the testimonies of people involved in broadcasting by adopting the research methodology of oral history. This paper features the broadcasting history of postwar Okinawa (hereinafter honorific titles omitted)1).

After WWII, Okinawa came under the direct rule of the U.S. military forces and was totally detached from mainland Japan in terms of politics, economy, and legal system, which was extended to social and cultural aspects. Broadcasting history was no exception: how it began and how it developed was entirely different from that in mainland Japan. In ruins after the devastation of war, a broadcasting service was launched in Okinawa from scratch and developed, buffeted by the intents of the U.S. and Japanese governments and social landscapes. Here is a person who has been deeply involved in the process, experiencing each critical stage: Chosei Kabira, 91, former president of Okinawa Hoso Kyokai (OHK) [Okinawa Public Broadcasting System].

Chosei Kabira is a rare figure who has been involved in broadcasting all the way from the launch of broadcasting in the postwar period to the reversion of Okinawa to Japan.

He, together with his brother Choshin Kabira, strived to create a broadcasting station for the people of Okinawa, and became very popular as the first radio announcer in Okinawa after WWII. Later, as an executive of the broadcasting station, he was in charge of not only the management and production but also negotiating with the U.S. military. He played a

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major role in establishing the Okinawa Hoso Kyokai and became its first president.

Not many studies have been carried out on the history of broadcasting in postwar Okinawa. Although there are excellent literature such as “Broadcasting History of Postwar Okinawa” by Etsujiro Miyagi and the “History of Okinawa Hoso Kyokai” (Okinawa Hoso Kyokai Documentary Literature Preservation Research Group), the history has not been sufficiently recorded looking at it from the eyes of those directly involved in broadcasting: what their intent was and how they acted.

So, in this paper, we focused on how broadcasting in Okinawa transformed, and divided the time between right after WWII till Okinawa’s return to Japan into five phases (see table). And in each phase, we looked at how Chosei Kabira, who was involved in

Chosei Kabira

The Kabira family are descendants of the Ryukyu Dynasty and Chosei was born in 1927 in Taiwan, where the family had moved to, to Chohei (father) and Tsuruko (mother), as the youngest of seven children. He was called into military service when he was a student at Taihoku Higher School but the war ended six months later. The family went back to Okinawa, and he was instrumental, together with his elder brother Choshin, in starting broadcasting in postwar Okinawa. After studying at Michigan State University in the United States, he went back to Okinawa and married Wandalee Weaver, an American. He filled various posts such as the director of broadcasting and executive director at Ryukyu Broadcasting Corporation and became the first president of Okinawa Hoso Kyokai (Okinawa Public Broadcasting System). He was president until OHK merged with NHK. At NHK, he worked as an executive in charge of management. After retirement, he was professor at the Faculty of Humanities and Culture, Showa Women’s University. Currently, he is honorary director and professor emeritus of the above university.

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table : Outline of broadcasting history in postwar Okinawa 1945-1972

Phase One The “Forgotten Island” 1945-1947

Was occupied by U.S. forces, and direct rule starts.

Military rule was in confusion and residents were in poverty.

Phase Two The age of “government (military) run broadcaster” 1948-1953

U.S. positions Okinawa as the “Linchpin of the Pacific,” and increases its importance.

U.S. rethinks military rule in Okinawa.

U.S. opens new broadcasting station for the people of Okinawa.

(U.S. bears all cost for facilities and network)

Phase Three The age of a semi-governmental broadcaster 1954-1957

Japan recovers its independence and as a measure against communist countries, the United States declares “indefinite possession” of U.S. bases in Okinawa.

Broadcasting station becomes semi-government owned to reduce costs of ruling Okinawa.

(Ryukyu Broadcasting took a special form where the station was operated by a private entity, but the U.S. owned the facilities)

Phase Four The age of commercial broadcasting and television 1958-1966

Confiscation of land by the U.S. military erupted into demonstrations against the military by all of Okinawa→intensified movements for the reversion of Okinawa to Japan.

Ryukyu Broadcasting buys radio facilities from the U.S. → a step toward becoming a “truly” private company.

Okinawa Television and Ryukyu Broadcasting starts television broadcasts. Radio Okinawa starts.

With the opening of Japan-Okinawa microwave link, television broadcasts are sent directly from Japan to Okinawa.

→”Television fever” heats up in Yaeyama, Miyako, and other islands.

→Reorganizing of commercial broadcasters and the need of public broadcasting proposed

Phase Five The age of co-existence of public and commercial broadcasters 1967-1972

Japanese and U.S. governments move toward the reversion of Okinawa→Residents’ movement for “Okinawa without bases” intensifies.

Commercial broadcasters (Okinawa Television, Ryukyu Broadcasting, Radio Okinawa) and public broadcaster (Okinawa Hoso Kyokai) co-exist.

(Compiled based on “The Broadcasting History of Postwar Okinawa”)

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broadcasting at the time, thought, acted, and what was behind his actions, aiming to draw a three dimensional picture of the history of broadcasting in Okinawa.

As a prerequisite, we’ll like to take a look at Taiwan, where Chosei Kabira was born and raised, until immediately after WWII. He came to know and was involved in broadcasting in Taiwan before the war, and that experience is thought to have had a major influence on his founding the broadcasting service in Okinawa.

1. Prologue 1927 – 1947

Starting from Taiwan, a “forerunner” in broadcasting

Chosei Kabira was born in 1927 in Taiwan, which was under Japanese rule at the time. His parents and family moved to Taiwan from Okinawa, so both places were home to him. And we found intriguing facts by comparing the broadcasting environment of these two places back then.

Taiwan was colonized by Japan in 1895 and radio test broadcasting began there in June 1925, only three months after broadcasting began in Japan. In 1928, a broadcasting station in the city of Taihoku was opened by the Governor-General’s Office to broadcast the coronation ceremony of Emperor Showa, and regular broadcasting began in January 1931. After that, the Taiwan Hoso Kyokai (Taiwan Broadcasting Corporation) was established in February as an incorporated association. There were few subscribers to radio broadcasting back then, but radio ownership grew quickly among Japanese residents, and by fiscal 1941, the penetration rate was some 50 percent, which about equals that in mainland Japan2).

Now let’s look at the situation in Okinawa. The “Okinawa Broadcasting Station, long-awaited by some 600,000 people of Okinawa”3) was founded in March 1942, 11 years after radio services started in Taiwan. Even after radio broadcasts began in Okinawa, not many people owned radios. Not only was the ownership rate the lowest in the nation, the “gap between other prefectures was too large to easily fill.”4)

This meant that, if you look at the broadcasting environment alone, Chosei Kabira was lucky enough to be born and raised in Taiwan, where radio broadcasts were easily accessible, rather than in his parents’ homeland of Okinawa. In addition, his brother Choshin’s involvement in broadcasting had a lot to do with what happened later on.

The Kabira family moved to Taiwan from Okinawa in 1925 for financial reasons5). Back then, many Okinawans moved to Taiwan to find jobs. Chosei had three brothers much older than him, who in Chosei’s words “not blindly loved him but competed with each other to show their affection for him.” The eldest brother, Choshin, was 18 years older than Chosei. Choshin moved to Taiwan in 1924, a year earlier than the family, and after working as a reporter for Taiwan News, got involved in the production of radio programs at the broadcasting station in Taihoku.

At Taiwan Hoso Kyokai (Taiwan Broadcasting Corporation), officials of the Governor’s Office of Taiwan held the chief director and other executive posts, and in effect the broadcasting corporation was run as a public broadcaster6). With the start of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937, the broadcaster played its part in carrying out the imperialization policy of the Japanese government, and its important duty was to penetrate the Japanese language and integrate the Japanese spirit and culture in Taiwan7). Spreading Japanese

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Taihoku Broadcasting Station, Taiwan Hoso Kyokai (1937)

culture was the broadcaster’s most important mission, so the cultures of Taiwan and Okinawa were mostly neglected in broadcasting.

However, the unique cultures of the lands were dear to Choshin, and he, together with Riichi Sudo, professor at Taihoku Higher School, and Nenozo Utsushikawa, professor at Taihoku Imperial University, was taking part in the study of Ryukyu (traditional name for Okinawa)/Okinawan culture and Taiwanese culture8).

To spread the culture of Okinawa through broadcasting, Choshin planned a Ryukyu classical music program and had his father, Chohei, play Okinawa folk songs with sanshin, Okinawa’s traditional three-string instrument, in the studio and aired the music. He also organized a talk show of learned people called “A Discussion on Okinawa Culture,” and broadcast that9). He made good of his personal connections and worked to incorporate aspects of Okinawa culture in broadcasting even when the imperialization of the people was underway.

According to Chosei, his brother Choshin was influenced strongly by their father, who was very proud to be a descendent of the Ryukyu Dynasty. This pride was shared by all members of the Kabira family.

Kabira: When we were small, my father would play the sanshin and tell us [brothers] about what the words of the song meant. Okinawa people in Taiwan were surprised to see my father play the sanshin, worrying that the Taiwanese may look down on him if they see him playing it. Okinawans [who emigrated to Taiwan] tended to hide where they came from. But they [ parents] would always tell us that when we grow up, we should be proud of the culture of Okinawa. I’m glad that I grew up in such an environment. Come to think of it, I was able to say that I’m a Ryukyuan (Okinawa people) even when I was in elementary school.

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His elder brother Choshin wrote and directed radio dramas and founded a children’s radio theatrical company, and together with Choho, the younger brother, wrote the scripts for the plays. Influenced by Choshin, Chosei Kabira entered the world of broadcasting.

Kabira: My brother said, “Why don’t you take part in the play?” when I wasn’t even school age. My brothers were good to me, and I learned to read when I was really a small kid. So, I read the script, and said, “Yeah, I can do it.” So that’s how it happened. Of course, I practiced a lot before the play, but when I went to the studio, I saw that the place was covered with curtains, and it was so quiet. And there was that big microphone. I forget what it was called back then. Velocity microphone, was it? But they tell me I began to weep. I don’t remember it though.

He couldn’t stop crying, so for that day, his brother had to do the child in the play, saying the lines in falsetto. That was his first “encounter” with radio. Although he may not remember the incident in full, Chosei Kabira’s first meeting with a medium called radio was as the sender of radio broadcasts, at a time when radio had not become so popular yet. The radio was always turned on when he came home. And to participate in the broadcasting, he went to the Taiwan Hoso Kyokai’s studio about once a month. He would hold the script in his hands and speak to the microphone. He wasn’t afraid anymore.

Kabira: I’m not sure how to say it, but I guess I felt proud. I had that kind of feeling in me when I was on the radio.

To Chosei Kabira, broadcasting was something that was always there for him. So, in Taiwan, he probably naturally learned its pleasures and the major effects it has on society.

He later enrolled in Taihoku Higher School. He wanted to study culture and art, like his brother Choshin, but following his father’s wishes, he selected science, aiming to become a medical doctor. Around the end of the war, he was accepted by the Japanese army as a special A-grade military cadet, but before he went into training the war ended when he was still in Taiwan.

2. Phase One (1945-1947)

The “Forgotten Island” -- Searching for a way to start broadcasting in Okinawa under the rule of U.S. forces.

Although the Japanese mainland was devastated by air raids and atomic bombings, the Japanese government and Imperial Diet were functioning. Occupation of Japan by the General Headquarters of the Allied Powers (GHQ) was carried out as an indirect rule through the Japanese government.

On the other hand, in Okinawa, where Japan fought ground battles with U.S. forces, the entire island was burnt to the ground. Most people lost their homes and land.

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Immediately after the war, they lived in internment camps and the occupying U.S. military forces began direct rule of Okinawa. A government and assembly were temporary set up, but in the beginning, officials were appointed by the U.S. military and autonomy was extremely limited10).

Military rule by the United States was in a chaos until around 1948, and the civil administration in Okinawa was almost non-existent. Okinawa was known as the “Forgotten Island.”11) The end of war and postwar reconstruction took a path completely different from that of mainland Japan.

The Kabiras went back to Okinawa in December 1946, but his father died just before their return. Although the family went “back,” it was the first time for Chosei to set foot on Okinawa.

Kabira: At that time, we needed permission to enter the city of Shuri [where the family lived before]. There was no freedom of movement back then. In the latter half of 1946, people who had lived in Shuri were allowed to live in the city, but housing was not available, and so we had to live in tents. When it rained heavily, the ground got wet, and there was no place to lie down…. That’s how it was. I had heard from my parents and brothers that big trees grew densely in the area around Shurijo Castle and that it was so scarily to pass the Shureimon Gate of the castle to go to the normal school. It seems that the streets were a scarily place for girls to pass. But nothing of that remained. When we arrived in Shuri, the broken pillars of the Shureimon Gate were left lying on the ground as they were. The place was in ruins.

That’s why my mother said, “Although the proverb goes, ‘The country is destroyed; yet mountains and rivers remain,’ I guess no mountains and rivers remain.” Her nostalgia was so touching. My mother would often say, “I wanted to show you Okinawa before the war.”

Chosei didn’t immediately work in broadcasting after coming back to Okinawa. His first job in Okinawa was as an interpreter and translator for the “Okinawa Exhibit,” (the current Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum), where cultural assets gathered from the ruins were exhibited. He met an American doctor through his job and was selected to become an assistant clinical examiner for venereal diseases. That was his second job. He had never even “held hands with a girl in his life, but he was placed in predicament where he had to teach, or rather translate to, girls how to use condoms.”

As for the broadcasting environment, there was a big gap between the situation in mainland Japan and in Okinawa.

The broadcasting network of Nihon Hoso Kyokai, or Japan Broadcasting Corporation, was hard hit by the war, but it was able to restart broadcasting quickly. But Okinawa suffered catastrophic damages by the severe fighting on the land, and no broadcasting system existed there. The only radio station in Okinawa, the Okinawa Broadcasting Station of Nihon Hoso Kyokai, was disbanded before the U.S. forces landed on Okinawa12).

Furthermore, the U.S. forces’ posture was to “ assert ultimate authority and autocratically make people obey”13). In Okinawa, broadcasting had to start from scratch. The

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difficulties that lay ahead to restart broadcasting was incomparable to what it was like on the mainland.

It was Choshin, his brother, who actively tackled this difficult business.

He was appointed the head of the culture and arts section of the Okinawa Civilian Administration. He worked hard to start broadcasting in Okinawa, but the deputy governor of the administration objected, saying, “It’s too early,” so he decided to leave the post.

But the tides began to turn, and now the U.S. became enthusiastic about starting a broadcasting station.

3. Phase Two 1948 – 1953

The age of government (military) run broadcasting -- The first radio announcer in postwar Okinawa

By 1948, the United States positioned Okinawa as the “Linchpin of the Pacific,” contemplating China and the Soviet Union, and changed its policy to raise Okinawa’s strategic importance. So, for the U.S. forces, which ruled Okinawa, public relations activities increased importance.

In January 1949, the U.S. military government’s Civil Information and Education Department (CIE)15) was beefed up and James N. Tull, who had experience in broadcasting, became the chief of information. Choshin was called on by the CIE to help the military government create a “broadcasting station for the Okinawa people,” and the process accelerated. So, the Voice of Okinawa, callsign AKAR, was born, and Choshin became its director of broadcasting (head of programming). Chosei was asked by his brother Choshin to become the announcer for the radio station.

Thus, Chosei returned to the world of broadcasting and started to work with his brother, once again.

Kabira: My brother [Choshin] said to me, “You were appearing in radio dramas [when you were small]. Would you be our announcer for a while? We’ll be training new announcers in a while, so until then.” The radio station began test broadcasts in 1949. Around then, a system to study in mainland Japan was created and medical students were given preference to study there. But my brother said to me “Wait. You would be given preference, even if you didn’t apply now. Please wait.”

At the beginning, I thought if I could help my brother then I would do it. That’s all it was. But then appearing on radio kind of grew on me.

On May 16, 1949, Chosei participated in the test broadcasting of the Voice of Okinawa and became the first postwar radio announcer in Okinawa, under the name Kiyoshi Kabira.

Kabira: It was the first broadcast, and my voice would be the first to be heard in Okinawa. So, I guess I was in an emotional high. I was also praying…, maybe praying is saying too much. I guess I was saying to myself, “Please listen to our broadcast. I hope someone is listening.”

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But our broadcasts were suspended after only a week and airing three programs. In addition to technical problems, few residents owned a radio. But even before that, the people of Okinawa were too preoccupied with surviving their daily lives that listening to the radio was too far-fetched to even think about. Furthermore, many residents had the misconception that “listening to the radio was prohibited after the war.” The situation of the residents was also a major barrier for radio broadcasting16).

As a result, after the notification from the military government at the end of 1949 to restart broadcasting, the radio station actually restarted on January 21, 195017). The Voice of Okinawa was on air from 6 PM to 8 PM for two hours.

Kabira: When we began broadcasting, we got a lot of letters. There were repatriates who brought back a radio with them. And people who were working

at the U.S. bases would say, “Okay, we’ll buy a radio,” and bought radios, hearing that radio broadcasts had begun. There weren’t many listeners, but they sent in letters. Then, radios running on batteries and a radio system, which was what they called “group listening” using “parent and child” radio sets, were imported, and this further increased the letters coming in.

In the “parent and child” radio system, a cabled shared listening device (parent) receives the broadcast and the broadcast is sent through cables to speakers (child) installed in each household. The United States’ Government Appropriation for Relief in Occupied Area, or the GARIOA funds, bought a great number of the radio device, and from between April 1952 and October 1952, placed them in 53 cities, towns, and villages around Okinawa. The enormous funds of GARIOA dramatically changed18) the radio listening environment in Okinawa, introducing the “parent and child” radio system and others.

As the number of listeners increased, one of the programs that caused a sensation was the “Typhoon of Steel,”19) recited accounts of the horrors of the battles as seen, for the first time, from the eyes of the Okinawans. The documentaries had presence, and together with Kabira’s narration, the stories touched the hearts of the Okinawans.

Kabira: The letters were sent directly to me. One letter said that when it was time for the recitation program to begin, they sit straight in front of the radio and listen. Those letters made me feel that this [broadcasting] was more rewarding than going to medical school and becoming a doctor. So, I had to make more programs. And I had to write many types of things [scripts]. When I write commentaries on classical Okinawa music, I would read a lot of books on the subject. And as I do, my interest on classical Okinawa art deepened.

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Chosei Kabira announcing for “The Voice of Ryukyu” at broadcaster’s studio

The U.S. military tried to avoid interfering too much in the contents of the programs. And the Kabira brothers also tried not to take up topics or use expressions that would upset the U.S. military.

The thrill of making the first announcement on air

From Chosei Kabira’s diary written on May 16, 1949

It was the first test broadcast; I wonder how many years had past since the last. My heart began to beat faster and faster, although I tried to keep my cool. And I began to imagine people gathering in front of the radio, and their faces waiting for the moment. The first announcement will call out AKAR. There was a feeling of excitement in the air for being a front runner. People welcomed the day with various feelings. And giving a big nod to the go-sign given by Makiya (technician), as if to quiet the pounding of my heart, I started to talk, delighted that the moment is here. No, it wasn’t announcing, I was just talking frantically. I was amazed that the English part went quite smoothly, the Japanese part ended without my noticing. The record player was turned on, and I opened the door, relieved that it was done. I felt as if this was my virgin broadcast. I went see Mr. T (afore mentioned James N. Tull), who was listening to the broadcast in his car…. I went back to the studio. Two more songs went on air. They were Gujinfu and Ichibanari (both classical Okinawa music). As I was waiting for Makiya to give the sign, I was imaging the faces of the people listening to the music, saying it’s the Ryukyu Broadcasting Station, our broadcasting station. They look refreshed and happy. Although the closing comment was long, I had practiced it as I was instructed and I was confident. I was able to end the announcement with ease and thought that announcements in Japanese suits me more. (Contents in the parentheses were added by the authors)

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Kabira: We restrained ourselves when we wrote [scrips for broadcasting]. It seems strange, but I guess we sensed, or should I say we knew from experience, that we had to be innocuous. If we were going to write on a sensitive topic, we found ways to write about it subtly.

Speaking to them [U.S. military] routinely, we saw that there are people who understand. Like Tull (The chief of information at the U.S. Military government). He was critical of the military government’s policies and administration. He would imply that to us, talking in an indirect way on the topics, and I could see that “he understands.” How can I say it? The relations between the conqueror and the conquered. I realized that this probably was the same relations we had in Taiwan [between the Japanese and the Taiwanese]. You surmise what the other wants.

Looking at Okinawa from Tokyo

In the spring of 1952, when going to mainland Japan was severely restricted, Chosei traveled to the mainland, alone and for the first time. The military government’s CIE arranged for him to participate in a training program at NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) in Tokyo with its 25th group of announcers.

Kabira: When the CIE in Okinawa asked the CIE in Tokyo if it would accept Kiyoshi Kabira [at NHK], I was accepted without any problem. I took a military aircraft from the U.S. military base in Naha City to the U.S. base in Tachikawa. And from there I was taken to Tokyo in a bus and was dropped off in front of SCAP (the office of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers), the current Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company building20). They told me that NHK is close by.

This was his first trip to Tokyo, and he had a lot to learn. But as for broadcasting equipment, what they had in Okinawa was much more advanced than that in Tokyo. From what he said, we can see that the U.S. military spent a sizable amount of money to equip the broadcasting station in Okinawa.

Kabira: Back then, the broadcasting station in Okinawa got a sound recorder quite early. At the training center in Tokyo, we used a portable recorder brought from America in the practice sessions. Recording tapes were precious so we weren’t allowed to cut any tapes, ever. When I looked, the tapes were made of paper. They were coated paper tapes. In Okinawa, we were already using vinyl tapes. NHK was using paper tapes, taking care of them so preciously.

I guess this means that Okinawa was more advanced in broadcasting than Tokyo…(ha, ha).

The San Francisco Treaty, which was signed the year before, went into effect on April 28, when Chosei was still in Tokyo. Japan restored its sovereignty. When Chosei read the newspaper the following day, he was greatly shocked and disappointed.

Kabira: The paper said, “It is very good for Japan. Japan wasn’t divided into east and west like Germany was. Japan wasn’t divided into north and south like Korea was.” The papers said

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nothing about Ogasawara, Amami-oshima, or Okinawa. I thought, “We weren’t divided like Germany! Yes, we are. We are divided into north and south.”

It was the awareness [of the Japanese] about Okinawa. No matter how much Okinawans try to become Japanese, the feeling that it will be very hard for us to do that started to grow in me from then on. Although I have never been discriminated against, this fact shocked me.

A Joint U.S. – Ryukyu radio station

In February 1953, the Voice of Ryukyu radio station moved from the U.S. Civil Administration building in Naha City to a full-scale broadcasting facility within the grounds of the University of the Ryukyus, and a new page in its history began. At that time, AKAR, the tentative radio station’s callsign was changed to KSAR, in line with the call sign used on the west coast of the United States. Its output was increased six times, enabling it to broadcast to a much broader area.

Chosei was the master of ceremonies at the opening ceremony of KSAR, and his brother Choshin, gave a speech on public broadcasting at the ceremony. It was to bring the Voice of Ryukyu, funded and fostered by GARIOA, “to all of the islands of Ryukyu as a public broadcaster for some one million compatriots of the Ryukyus,” and prepare to establish a broadcaster management committee and to collect subscription fees. These were all for becoming an “autonomous public broadcaster.”21)

To Chosei Kabira, who has worked in the studios to create radio programs, seeing all those broadcasting equipment sent from the United States and the official broadcasting station building set up, at last, was deeply moving.

Kabira: They would send the air force military band to play for us. It was great that the studio could accommodate such events. We relayed radio dramas broadcast by NHK, but we decided to make our own in Okinawa. So, my two brothers and I wrote dramas. I was looking at the old ones, and I found the synopses of the dramas. And we did make a lot of local programs.

I appeared in and directed programs. I suppose in those times we were very ambitious, and we were allowed to do a lot of things.

The big dreams of Choshin and Chosei blossomed by forming an alliance with the U.S. military.

4. Phase Three 1954-1957

The age of a semi-governmental broadcaster – Learning a new approach to broadcasting in the U.S.

In 1954, broadcasting in Okinawa went through a major transformation. In the backdrop of this change was the intensions of the U.S. military authorities22) which ruled Okinawa.

The United States was confronting the Soviet Union. With Japan restoring sovereignty,

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the United States planned to build up its military in the Far East and announced its policy to retain the bases in Okinawa for an indefinite period. The U.S. military authorities’ hardline policy was to confiscate land owned by Okinawans.

As for broadcasting, up to now the United States paid the costs for building the network and operating the radio station, but that cost too much. So, it tried to change all that.

But if the radio station was completely privatized, the United States would lose control over it. Making the radio station a public broadcaster that collects subscription fees would place a burden on the residents, and the plan was rejected to maintain a stable rule. The next plan was for the U.S. to hold the ownership of the radio station and say in the programming, but let a private company run the station. This plan would kill two birds with one stone23).

The plan was to, first, newly establish the University of the Ryukyus Foundation at the University of the Ryukyus to run the university. And the radio station was to be handed over to the foundation as a formality24). Then, the operation of the radio station will be consigned to a private company and the U.S. would collect rents from the company. But the plan didn’t go as the U.S. had expected.

The first company that took over the operation had difficulty airing programs regularly. So, in October 1954, the operation was transferred to the Ryukyu Broadcasting Corporation (RBC) which was mainly funded by the Ryukyu Times, a local newspaper. This was how the semi-governmental broadcasting station operated by RBC with the facilities owned the U.S. was born.

In the process, the initial operating company and the U.S. crashed. And there were voices in Okinawa that leaving the radio station to be run by a single newspaper company would cause problems, and this caused confusion25).

Choshin was against having a private company run, in other words, he objected to the commercialization of the radio station. He was adamant about his belief and crashed with the U.S. authorities, and was fired as the director of broadcasting at KSAR. From then on, he focused his work on social welfare and left the broadcasting world.

From around June 1953, Chosei left Okinawa for four years to study in America. He went to Michigan State University to study management of broadcasting stations in the United States.

Kabira: I admired America very much. Back then, the advisory group at the University of the Ryukyus was from Michigan State. And a professor of the group told me that Michigan State has both AM and FM stations, and that they are carrying out tests for television broadcasting. They had what they call an extension program, or an outreach program, and he told me that these media are taken up in the program. The professor told me they have experience.

Michigan State University started out as an agricultural college. And it was emphasizing practical education in teaching broadcasting. Chosei applied for scholarship at GARIOA as an overseas student, was accepted, and moved to the United States. There he learned of a different thinking in broadcasting which was unlike that of the U.S. military authorities.

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Kabira: [Back then] the war in Korea went into a cease fire. And I went to America on a military ship with soldiers returning from Korea. They were men who fought in the bloody battles and what they were telling me was so bloody, but in contrast to their stories they were very friendly…. When I reached America, I sensed that the people there had a kind of easiness about them, as the winner of the war. It was an affluent society, and they were also broad-minded. I didn’t feel any hostility against me.

“Publicness of broadcasting” learned in the United States

Chosei says he found the ideal form of broadcasting for Okinawa in the spirit of America’s Communications Act. Commercial broadcasting is the basis of broadcasting in America, but the law stipulates that broadcasting must have the welfare of the public at its base. When he learned this, he decided to focus on that topic and write a dissertation on it.

Kabira: The pillars of the philosophy of the American Communications Act are public service, convenience, and welfare. I focused my dissertation on these points.

The word “public” does not simply mean what the government refers to as “citizens”…, or people who own a radio. It points to the public at large, a much wider range of people than just the listeners.

It (broadcasting) should serve the public. It should be convenient and must take social welfare into consideration.

In Okinawa, commercial broadcasting started ahead of public broadcasting. But I thought broadcasting in Okinawa should be for the public. So, my concept of broadcasting was not public broadcasting but broadcasting for the public.

With this spirit of the American Communications Act in mind, he was trying to come up with a concept of broadcasting that was different from his brother Choshin’s -- who was against commercial broadcasting -- idea of public broadcasting. Chosei thought that no matter if the radio station is a public broadcaster or a commercial broadcaster, it was necessary to strengthen the publicness of the programming, and he though educational and cultural programs especially important.

Kabira: In [mainland] Japan, public broadcasting started first then commercial broadcasting began. But the situation was different in Okinawa.

Commercial broadcasting was available, but it was necessary to allocate a certain number of educational programs in the programming. There are about 60 islands of Okinawa, and radio played a vital role in the education and cultural learning of the people.

He was also looking at television broadcasting which started in the United States and in mainland Japan.

Kabira: With television, there are visual images. And there is what we call visual and auditory education. The visual part was introduced to education in Japan, and movies and films were

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shown. When television came in, it completely changed the approach to education. The effects of such education were not only acknowledged but were an established fact.

Chosei knew the situation of broadcasting in Okinawa and thought that he would use television to improve education and cultural studies programs. He was looking for a way to expand the broadcasting area, which only covered the main island of Okinawa, to Miyako, Yaeyama, and other remote islands.

Marries Wandalee Weaver, his college classmate, after coming back to Okinawa. It was the first marriage between an Okinawan and a foreigner in postwar Okinawa.

5. Phase Four 1958-1966

The age of commercial broadcasting and television – Growing out of semi-governmental broadcasting

In the latter half of the 1950s, the U.S. military authorities tried to quiet down movements that objected to hard-lined policies such as mandatory requisition and began an appeasement policy for the residents26). As part of the policy, in 1958, the military note B yen was switched to dollars. With this the economy of Okinawa gradually stepped into a high growth period27).

In the autumn of 1957, Chosei graduated from Michigan State graduate school and came back to Okinawa. He began working for Ryukyu Broadcasting Corporation (RBC). When he was around 35 years old, after working as director of broadcasting and at other posts, he

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became an executive of the company. Around then Okinawa’s commercial broadcasting started in full-scale. And broadcasting stations that didn’t rely on the U.S. military were set up one after the other.

At the end of September 1958, RBC was facing the end of the leasing term for the radio facilities agreed between the U.S.’s University of the Ryukyus Foundation. The facilities of the radio station that went into service in 1954 had already become dilapidated, and Chosei was thinking how he could take advantage of the situation.

Kabira: If we [RBC] said to them [the foundation] that the equipment has become old and we want you to buy new ones, the foundation would probably say we don’t have that kind of money. I said to the president [of RBC] that this is a great opportunity, let’s buy the facilities. If we were to buy them, we had to negotiate the price.

This didn’t mean just purchasing the equipment. It meant that, in the future, when they needed to reconstruct the building or renew broadcasting facilities, they could do it without the Americans intervening. What this meant was that they would be an “autonomous broadcasting station.” Chosei thought that critical. He was fluent in English and had many connections with the Americans. So, he was the one who negotiated the price.

Kabira: They [Americans] indicated the price they want, so we [RBC] asked our engineers what they were worth. They told us many were too old to be used for a long time. We calculated the price we’ll pay, but the price the Americans asked for was extremely high; their price and our price were miles apart. So, we suggested we asked an appraisal company, which was popular in the United States, to do the pricing. In Okinawa, there was a company called Inteco (International Inspection & Testing).

Chosei knew that the American appraisal company, Inteco, had opened its office in Okinawa. So, he urged the Americans to have this company appraise the value. The price indicated by Inteco was 7 million yen, one-tenth of the price (70 million yen) suggested by the U.S. It was close to the price asked for by RBC28). And the Americans had to lower their price considerably.

This issue also involved licensing other newly created broadcasting stations. In 1956, Okinawa Television (OTV), the first television station for Okinawa’s residents, applied for license, and in 1957, Radio Okinawa applied for license as the second radio station in Okinawa.

RBC claimed that if it had to use the decrepit facilities and equipment for broadcasting as they are, it would be a big handicap in competing with the newcomers and insisted that licensing of other broadcasting stations should be withheld for now29). The Americans’ concluded that it would be difficult to withhold licensing of new broadcasting stations30) and so the acquisition talks proceeded favorably for RBC, and RBC succeeded in acquiring all broadcasting facilities that were owned by the United States.

From then on, Okinawa Television (OTV) started broadcasting in 1959, Radio Okinawa (ROK) in 1960, and RBC started television broadcasts in 1960. Okinawa had multiple broadcasting station to welcome the age of television.

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Broadcasting’s “reversion” to Japan: TV fever in Sakishima

The U.S. military authorities carried out its appeasement policy mainly for economic reasons. In Okinawa, heinous crimes by American soldiers, such as the assault and murder of a little girl, occurred one after another. And when a U.S. aircraft crashed into an elementary school more than 200 people were killed or injured. Major accidents and crimes have continued to threaten the lives and properties of the Okinawa people.

The Okinawans’ resentment grew stronger and the Council on the Reversion of Okinawa to Japan was set up to call for the protection of human rights under the Japanese Constitution. The drive to have Okinawa returned to Japan started to grow into a full-scale movement. In consideration of these movements, the U.S. government began to contemplate the reversion of Okinawa to Japan, on the premise that the U.S. bases in Okinawa were maintained. The United States’ began to correct its policy of completely cutting off Okinawa from mainland Japan in terms of politics, economy and culture31).

In 1964, Eisaku Sato, who touted that he will work for the return of Okinawa, became prime minister, and with his inauguration the move to get Okinawa back accelerated.

The Japanese government constructed and shouldered the costs of building the Japan-Ryukyu microwave link32) which went into service in 1964. This link allowed Okinawa residents to directly enjoy Japanese television for the first time33). The Tokyo Olympic Games held this year was broadcast live in Okinawa and many residents welcomed the development.

But these advancements were limited to the main island of Okinawa. The remote Sakishima Islands such as Miyako and Yaeyama were left behind. Under the U.S. government even a relay station for radio broadcasts was not provided, and what could be heard on the radio was full of noise. People there had to listen to the radio under terrible conditions. For a while, only the cable “parent and child” radio was available34).

Seeing this, the Japanese government, eager to get Okinawa back, started to act.

Introducing television to Sakishima and integration of commercial broadcasters

In August 1965, Prime Minister Eisaku Sato visited Okinawa and went to the Sakishima Islands, and was warmly welcomed by the residents. He promised that he will set up television facilities in Miyako and Yaeyama35).

But introducing television to the Sakishima Islands was not simple. It wasn’t just about the Japanese government building television facilities there. It meant that the system of broadcasting in Okinawa, which started and developed after WWII under the direct control of the U.S. military, had to be changed.

The issue was dealt with by Ryukyu government36) which had already expanded its autonomy, and the U.S. military authorities did not intervene.

A council to prepare for the start of Sakishima television station was founded in April 1966 by the Ryukyu government. Chosei became a member of the council and contributed his ideas.

Kabira: The thought in Okinawa was that the market there had room for only one commercial television station. But if the public broadcaster, that is a station connected to NHK, was to come to Okinawa, then I thought that we can combine the commercial broadcasters as one group and

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the rest of the employees could go to public broadcasting.

He pointed out that the market in Okinawa was small, and if a public broadcaster that airs NHK programs came into the market where two TV stations and two radio stations were fighting bitterly over viewers and listeners, the competition placed on the commercial broadcasters would be too much. So, he proposed to consolidate and realign the entire broadcasting industry in Okinawa and create one commercial broadcaster and one public broadcaster.

In the end, the council’s answer was to establish a new administering body of public broadcasting that covers all of the Ryukyus37). And then the council asked the Ryukyu government to have the broadcast system council discuss restructuring Okinawa’s broadcasting industry so that it has one public broadcaster and one commercial broadcaster, on the premise that the current three commercial broadcasters voluntarily reorganize themselves into one company. This thinking was about the same as Chosei’s proposal.

But in reality, talks between the three companies on how to reorganize and consolidate the companies progressed slowly and a conclusion could not be reached.

6. Phase Five 1967-1972

Age of co-existence of public and commercial broadcasters – Creating a public broadcaster

The council’s proposal was to reform Okinawa’s broadcasting system. So, the Ryukyu government included a detailed plan on the administering body of public broadcasting in the revision of the Broadcast Act. In the bill, it was provided that the entity would be a public corporation: Okinawa Hoso Koshya (Okinawa Broadcasting Public Corporation).

The bill said, “The president [of the broadcasting public corporation] will be appointed by the chief executive [of the government of the Ryukyu Islands] with the approval of the managerial committee (Article 36). All of the capital of the public corporation will be funded by the government (Article 16). The chief executive will supervise the public corporation (Article 85).” The bill gave strong authority over the public corporation to the Ryukyu government38).

Kabira: The Ryukyu government had its own idea of a public broadcaster. But when I learned of its idea, my blood started to boil, thinking, “No that’ not it.”

The bill was sent to the legislative house in May 1967. But objections erupted from opposition parties like the Shakai Taishu-to (Social Masses Party) and many others, saying that the public broadcaster described in the bill is a government broadcaster where the Ryukyu government can intervene in the programming.

Chosei went to see Seiho Matsuoka, the chief executive of the government of the Ryukyu Islands at the time, who he knew from just after the war, and suggested a plan for Okinawa Hoso Kyokai, which is structured close to that of NHK. What was different from the bill was that the president will not be appointed by the chief executive but selected by an independent managerial committee, and the capital would not be investments but rather loans

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from the government. The plan was to eliminate as much control of the government as possible.

Kabira: They tell us to create a public broadcaster (association). He [Chief Executive Matsuoka] said to me that there are many types of associations and that various companies come together and form a sort of a group. I told him that the norm doesn’t matter that much. Okinawa will be returned [to Japan] soon or later, and when that happens, the public broadcaster must be something that we can hand over to NHK. NHK will probably accept a government broadcaster but we want to make it easier for NHK to take over.

Let’s set up a managerial committee, like NHK, [and have the committee select the president.] It’s unthinkable for the chief executive to appoint the president.

Matsuoka called the head of general affairs, who was in charge of preparing a draft plan [of the bill], to the office and told him what I had said and asked him to talk it over with me and change the bill. Matsuoka told him that I am very informed about the situation. So, I was asked to give advice about the bill. The bill went through a major change with my advice.

In August 1967, the Ryukyu government revised the draft Public Corporation bill, drafted the Okinawa Hoso Kyokai (OHK) bill, and submitted it to the legislative house. The draft bill was about the same as Chosei’s proposal.

But the political situation at the time and the need to integrate commercial broadcasters complicated the situation. The opposition parties maintained their objection to the bill, and so on September 13, the bill was passed, at last, by steamrolling it through the legislature.

Kabira: It was a very sad thing to see. The fact that they had to force it through.

But negotiation was impossible. The bill had to be passed together with the education and public servants acts 39), so the opposition parties objected to anything that would give control to the government, whether the bill was for a broadcasting public corporation or a public broadcasting association. That’s why even if I tried to persuade them that the money is not an investment but a loan, they would respond that if the money comes from the government it would intervene. I guess they didn’t trust the government.

Okinawa Hoso Kyokai (OHK): Setting sail into a stormy sea

Chosei left Ryukyu Broadcasting Corporation (RBC), and on September 23, as the person who proposed the idea, was selected by the managerial committee to be the president of OHK, when he was only 40 years old.

OHK had to start with the pending issue of integrating the commercial broadcasters still unsettled. The commercial broadcasters would not send in any personnel to help, so OHK had to start with new recruits and personnel on loan from NHK. The plan was to begin with 240 personnel, but in reality OHK had only 27 people 40) at its start. A major scaling down in business was needed.

There was no consensus between the Okinawans on what a public broadcaster should be when OHK set sail. This led to difficulties in collecting subscription fees which was the source of income for the association41).

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Okinawa Hoso Kyokai (Okinawa Public Broadcasting System) (1970)

Kabira: People were very negative about paying subscription fees. In Okinawa, it was extremely difficult to have people understand the relationship between public broadcasting, subscription fees, and viewers. Our sales point was education and culture. But not many people understood or were glad to have public broadcasting.

Commercial broadcasting started 13 years earlier than public broadcasting, and people couldn’t understand why they had to pay to view. This mentality will probably continue in Okinawa in the future.

Mixed feelings about reversion of Okinawa to Japan

The reversion of Okinawa to Japan was an established policy for the governments of Japan and the United States. The Okinawa Reversion Agreement was signed between the United States and Japan on June 17, 1971. But the agreement did not stipulate the details on the scaling down of U.S. bases in Okinawa.

On the return of Okinawa, large-scale strikes were held calling for a “peaceful island with no bases.” The voices of the Okinawa people who wished a cutback of the U.S. bases grew louder by the day.

Chobyo Yara, the first chief executive of the Ryukyu government elected by the people, went to Tokyo with a proposal, asking for the removal of U.S. bases in Okinawa, to submit to the Japanese Diet which will discuss the agreement. But on the day he was to hand in the petition, the Lower House Special Committee for the Okinawa Reversion Agreement forced the bill through and the return of Okinawa in 1972 with U. S. bases remaining was decided.

As the day of Okinawa’s return to Japan approached, OHK had already decided to hand over the business to NHK42). OHK was making technical adjustments so that the business

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will be transferred to NHK without disrupting broadcasting.

“K” in the callsign KSGB indicates that the broadcaster is American. And on May 14, 1972, the day before the reversion, the last broadcast using the callsign KSGB ended. At 12 AM the next day, the first images of NHK’s General TV went on air using the call sign JOAP-TV, with “J” indicating Japan43).

Chosei welcomed this day with mixed feelings.

Kabira: When I saw the Japanese Diet steamroll bills through the Diet one after the other, I thought, “We’re going back to this country?” Since then, what came up in the back of my mind was, “Wait a minute, maybe we should rethink what the words the ‘reversion to the homeland’ mean.”

Where is my homeland? Where is my country? Maybe it isn’t Japan. That’s what I thought. That’s why I don’t use the words “reversion to the homeland….”

Can we call Japan, who ignores the wishes of Okinawa, a homeland? Chosei had this feeling of anger in him, but at the same time he had other feelings.

Kabira: That day, we jumped with joy at OHK. I felt that I had finally done my duty. NHK took in all the personnel at OHK. Broadcasting in Okinawa will reach all the islands….

He was relieved and at the same time happy that broadcasting will reach all of Okinawa for sure. He had contradicting feelings of anger and happiness at a major watershed moment in Okinawa broadcasting.

After joining NHK in 1972, Chosei worked in the international cooperation business and others as an executive in charge of management. After his retirement, he continues research on journalism and to think about broadcasting in Okinawa.

7. Closing remarks

Chosei Kabira talked about the events that happened in the broadcasting history of Okinawa and about his experiences, sometimes smiling and sometimes looking very serious. He gave us detailed facts of each of the events. As the interview progressed, we were tempted to ask Chosei, who has lived in Taiwan, the United States, and Okinawa and know the places well, this question:

“If you were to be born again, where would you like to be born?”

His answered swiftly: “Okinawa, before the war.”

His answer seemed to reflect his hope to spread broadcasting to all of the islands of Okinawa, the last stop in his history of broadcasting in Okinawa.

When we try to understand the postwar history of broadcasting in Okinawa, WWII always stands in front of you because its Okinawa we are talking about. Okinawa was the only place in Japan that suffered the devastation of land war, and the harsh realities of occupation by force and direct rule. What did we learn looking back on the history of

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broadcasting in Okinawa from the end of war to its reversion to Japan, as seen through the eyes of Chosei Kabira, who was deeply involved in the major events in history?

What we have learned is that broadcasting is affected not only by laws and advances in technology, but also by the social and historical circumstances of the times.

Behind the events that Chosei was involved in lay the various circumstances that he had to deal with as a person. He was born and raised in Taiwan which was a colony of Japan. He jumped into the world of broadcasting, introduced by his brother, and found that broadcasting agreed with him. He felt alive in that world. The satisfaction he gained from broadcasting motivated him to work to advance broadcasting in postwar Okinawa. And his ideal form of broadcasting that he encountered in the United States became the underlie of creating the mechanism of broadcasting in Okinawa.

The various realities that he faced in the process were intertangled with the intensions of the United States, the social situation in Okinawa, and the relationship with the Japanese mainland.

Once again, we were strongly reminded that when trying to understand the history of broadcasting, it is essential to carefully record the hopes, wishes and spirit of the people of the times.

(Isao Yoshida and Kyoko Hirotani)

Notes:

1) Interviews were carried out on June 2, 26, and July 24, 2018, by Isao Yoshida and Kyoko Hirotani.

2) NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, Broadcasting in the 20th Century Editorial Room (1998), 「放送資料集 4 台湾放送協会」 “Collection of Documentary Literature on Broadcasting, vol. 10, Taiwan Hoso Kyokai” p. 32

3) NHK General Broadcasting Culture Research Institute Broadcasting History Editorial Room (1971), 「放送資料集 4 沖縄放送局」“Collection of Documentary Literature on Broadcasting, vol. 4, Okinawa Broadcasting Station” p. 17

Although full-fledged activities to invite a broadcasting station to Okinawa began in 1934, its opening was delayed due to the “situation at the time.” (p. 5 of above)

4) In 1943, the penetration ratio was only 2.3%, when it was 49.5% for the entire country. (Aforementioned “Collection of Documentary Literature on Broadcasting, vol. 4, Okinawa Broadcasting Station” p. 26)

5) The actual number is not confirmed but it is said that there were over 7,000 people who moved to Taiwan from Okinawa in 1932. (Kimiko Saiki et al. 2000, 「川平朝申のライフコ－スを基軸とした戦前から戦後沖縄の教育・文化実践史研究」(A study on the history educational and cultural establishment from pre- to post-war Okinawa based on the life course of Chosin Kabira) p. 14

6) Aforementioned “Collection of Documentary Literature on Broadcasting, vol. 10, Taiwan Hoso Kyokai,” p. 35

7) Above pp. 23-24

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8) Aforementioned「川平朝申のライフコ－スを基軸とした戦前から戦後沖縄の教育・文化実践史研究」(A study on the history educational and cultural establishment from pre- to post-war Okinawa based on the life course of Choshin Kabira) p. 15

9) See above

10) The U.S. military gathered people who were prefectural assembly members and school principals before the war and formed the Okinawa Advisory Committee, but the committee was an advisory body for the U.S. military government. The Okinawa Civil Administration was formed in 1946 but its job was to “convey the orders of the U.S. military government to the people and make sure that they are correctly carried out.” (Yoshio Nakano, Moriteru Arasaki [1976], 「沖縄戦後史」“History of Postwar Okinawa,” pp. 18-19)

11) Okinawa’s military rule changed hands between the army and navy repeatedly, and “the military government became a ‘sink’ for incompetent officers, and Okinawa became an ‘forgotten island.’” (Seigen Miyazato [1986] 「アメリカの沖縄政策」 “U.S. Policy in Okinawa,” pp. 56-59)

12) NHK’s Okinawa broadcasting station became unable to broadcast after suffering a major air raid on Naha on October 10, 1944 and subsequent repeated air bombings that destroyed its facilities, and the radio station disbanded on March 28, 1945. (Aforementioned “Collection of Documentary Literature on Broadcasting, vol. 4, Okinawa Broadcasting Station” p. 57, pp.199-200)

13) Etsujiro Miyagi (1994) 「沖縄・戦後放送史」 “Broadcasting History of Postwar Okinawa” pp. 38-39

14) See 10)

15) Abbreviation for Civil Information & Education Department. “Its mission was as follows: 1. To increase autonomy and improve the ability of self-government of the Ryukyu people; 2. Achieve maximum understanding and support of the residents for American culture and its objectives; 3. Provide the residents clear and reliable information on the activities and future targets of the U.S. Civil Administration.” (沖縄放送協会資料保存研究会 「沖縄放送協会史」Okinawa Hoso Kyokai Documentary Literature Preservation and Research Group, [1982], History of Okinawa Hoso Kyokai) pp. 5-6

16) Aforementioned 「沖縄・戦後放送史」“Broadcasting History of Postwar Okinawa,” pp. 22-23

17) Above p. 24

18) Above pp. 26-27

19) The accounts of horrors that occurred between the time the Americans landed on Okinawa to until the Japanese military guards were wiped out as seen from the eyes of the Okinawans. The accounts were collected through testimonies and together with other documentary literature recorded by journalists (Compiled by the Okinawa Times, 1950 edition)

20) Current DN Tower 21

21) Aforementioned 「沖縄・戦後放送史」 “Broadcasting History of Postwar Okinawa” p. 35

22) Changes in the names of the U.S. military authorities that ruled Okinawa and the name of their chiefs are as follows: 1945, the Unites States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands (military governor); 1950, United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (civil vice governor); 1957, the same (high commissioner). These institutions hold various

25

powers under the U.S. government and U.S. military forces in Okinawa, but the differences have not influenced broadcasting history, and therefore, from here on, they will be referred to as “U.S. military authorities.”

23) Aforementioned 「沖縄・戦後放送史」“Broadcasting History of Postwar Okinawa,” pp. 46-48

24) Above pp. 46-49

25) Details of the confusion are in the aforementioned 「沖縄・戦後放送史」 “Broadcasting History of Postwar Okinawa” pp. 64-111

26) Aforementioned 「アメリカの沖縄政策」 “U.S. Policy in Okinawa,” p.135

27) Aforementioned 「沖縄・戦後放送史」“Broadcasting History of Postwar Okinawa,” pp. 162-163

28) Above pp. 158-159

29) Above pp. 155-156

30) Above p.159

31) In 1964, as a policy of the U.S. government, Paul Caraway, the high commissioner of the U.S. military government in Okinawa, who favored detaching Okinawa and the Japanese mainland, was removed, and Albert Watson, who supported uniting Okinawa and mainland Japan, became high commissioner.

32) “To transmit television waves to faraway places, a relay microwave link is necessary.” (NHK, [1977], 「放送 5 五十年史」“Fifty Years of Broadcasting History,” p. 379)

33) Okinawa Television (OTV) was already broadcasting programs sent from key stations by air mail. But the amount and hours the programs could be broadcast were limited. After the microwave link was set up, NHK’s programs were aired via commercial TV stations, so in Okinawa, people sometimes watched NHK programs with commercials.

34) Aforementioned 「沖縄・戦後放送史」 “Broadcasting History of Postwar Okinawa,” p. 221

35) Above p. 220

36) The Ryukyu government was established in 1952. Following the U.S’s system of the separation of the three powers, it had legislation (legislative house), government (chief executive), and judiciary (court). Their powers were limited in the beginning. But as the reversion of Okinawa to Japan neared, the selection of the chief executive was corrected in stages to reflect the wishes of Okinawans. And its autonomy increased as laws passed by the legislative house increased.

37) The reasons for setting up a public broadcaster were as follows: Television facilities built in the Sakishima Islands by the Japanese government were a gift to all of the residents of Sakishima; the economic size of Sakishima is not large enough for a commercial broadcaster to make profit; subscription fees may be collected only by a public broadcaster; the broadcaster will not be influenced by sponsors and independent business operation is possible; a public broadcaster may get assistance and cooperation from various fields; to enrich educational programs, etc. (Aforementioned 「沖縄・戦後放送史」“Broadcasting History of Postwar Okinawa,” pp. 221-223

38) Various points the proposed revision bill resembled the Broadcast Act revision bill that was

26

submitted to the Japanese Diet in March 1966 but was scrapped because of confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties. (Above pp. 231-233)

39) They were the Regional Education District and Public Servants’ Act and the Special Act for Public Servant Teachers. The acts included limits on political activities, prohibition of strikes, and limits on right of collective bargaining by teachers. The opposition parties strongly objected to the acts and they were scrapped in the end.

40) Aforementioned 「沖縄放送協会史」“History of Okinawa Hoso Kyokai,” p. 112

41) Based on OHK’s regulations, those who set up a broadcast receiving device had an obligation to pay subscription fees. (Above reference II-D-I)

“The idea that ‘broadcasting may be viewed free of charge,’ had become an established concept of the Okinawans. The collision between the ruling and opposition parties when passing the Broadcast Act through the legislature and activities by the joint council of residents for blocking the passage of the Broadcasting Act made it very difficult to build understanding among the residents for the subscription fee system. Much effort was needed.” (Above pp. 100-101)

The difficulties in collecting subscription fees are described in detail in pp. 103-104.

The penetration rate was 48.2% in 1969. (Above reference II-D-8)

42) Above p.119

43) Above p.121

References:

Kimiko Saiki et al. 2000, 「川平朝申のライフコ－スを基軸とした戦前から戦後沖縄の教育・文化実践史研究」 (A study on the history of educational and cultural establishment from pre- to post-war Okinawa based on the life course of Choshin Kabira)

Okinawa Hoso Kyokai Documentary Literature Preservation and Research Group (1982) 「沖縄放送協会史」“History of Okinawa Hoso Kyokai”

Yoshio Nakano, Moriteru Arasaki (1976), 「沖縄戦後史」 “History of Postwar Okinawa,” Iwanami Shinsho

NHK (1977), 「放送五十年史」 “Fifty Years of Broadcasting History”

NHK General Broadcasting Culture Research Institute Broadcasting History Editorial Room (1971), 「放送資料集 4 沖縄放送局」 “Collection of Documentary Literature on Broadcasting, vol. 4, Okinawa Broadcasting Station”

NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, Broadcasting in the 20th Century Editorial Room (1998), 「放送資料集 10 台湾放送協会」 “Collection of Documentary Literature on Broadcasting, vol. 10, Taiwan Hoso Kyokai”

Etsujiro Miyagi (1994) 「沖縄・戦後放送史」 “Broadcasting History of Postwar Okinawa,” Hirugi-sha

Seigen Miyazato (1986), 「アメリカの沖縄政策」“U.S. Policy in Okinawa,” Nirai-sha

琉球放送企画部編「琉球放送十年誌」Ryukyu Broadcasting Planning Dept., “Ten Years of Ryukyu Broadcasting” (1965), Ryukyu Broadcasting Corp.