Despite being renowned for its breathtaking ocean and ivory beach, Okinawa, an Island in Japan, has the highest rate of poverty in the country.
For years Okinawa has borne this conflicting identity of beauty and destitution. Locals are concerned by the situation as they fear this is now part of the cultural identity of their home. Although the poverty in Okinawa may not be as clear to the eye as miles of derelict housing, it is still nonetheless felt strongly across the island.
The Frightening Statistics
In Japan as a whole, poverty affects almost half of all single-parent households, 87% of which are headed by single mothers. Looking at Okinawa in particular, the issue is even worse with frightening levels of child poverty. The statistic stands at 30%, almost double the national average.
Kotaro Higuchi, a professor at Okinawa University, outlined that the high rates of poverty impacting young single mothers means many turn to sex work in order to pay their bills.
He told VICE World News that women who left school to have children ‘won’t have the qualifications necessary to work an office job and therefore can’t secure full-time employment. So they’ll be juggling housework and working until 2 am, which is overwhelming for any single individual and lead to children being neglected.’
Kana Tsuyama is a single mother from Okinawa. Her view supports Higuchi’s as she told VICE World News that around 60% of her friends that are single mothers work as club hostesses. This is just one of the many jobs available to women in the Island’s sex industry.
‘ I always have friends approaching me saying ‘Oh, I’m single now’, or, ‘ I’m getting divorced soon, so please tell me where I could find work as a hostess.’
The Dark History of Okinawa
The alarmingly high poverty rates must be considered next to the Island’s complex relations with the rest of the country and its history of foreign occupation. Okinawa was an independent country until it was annexed by Japan in 1879 and made into a prefecture.
In 1945, the prefecture played a key role in the USA’s planned occupation of Japan which resulted in 200,000 people being killed in the Battle of Okinawa. Not long after this in 1973, Japan’s oil crisis caused high unemployment rates which hit Okinawa hard.
Another societal issue linked to poverty on the Island is Alcoholism and deaths related to it. In 2017, Okinawa had the highest death rate caused by alcohol-related liver disease amongst men and women.
Moving in a positive direction, the people of Okinawa have built a consultation center as well as a welfare loaning system to help locals in financial difficulty.
While the breathtaking views of the island have captured the awe of many, the dark truths hidden underneath the surface must be recognized as well.
