Editing Okinawa Prefecture (section)

==Economy==
{{See also|Okinawa Island#Economy}}
The island economy is primarily driven by tourism and the U.S. military presence.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/okinawas-reinvention-enters-next-phase-1415912139|title=Okinawa's Reinvention Enters Next Phase|last1=Martin|first1=Alexander|date=13 November 2014|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=19 May 2016|url-access=subscription|archive-date=11 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611025110/http://www.wsj.com/articles/okinawas-reinvention-enters-next-phase-1415912139|url-status=live}}</ref> Other significant contributors to the economy include public utilities and public works, as well as, to a lesser extent, limestone mining, cement production, agriculture, telecommunications ({{ill|Okinawa Cellular Telephone|ja|沖縄セルラー電話}}), and alcoholic beverage production ([[Orion Breweries]]).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ryukyucement.co.jp/kouzan.htm |title=安和鉱山 琉球セメント |access-date=21 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217112331/http://www.ryukyucement.co.jp/kouzan.htm |archive-date=17 December 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=14 May 2009|url=http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-144509-storytopic-5.html|title=飲んで元気 アセローラ 本部町が産地をPR|publisher=琉球新報|access-date=17 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623124154/http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-144509-storytopic-5.html|archive-date=23 June 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=30 June 2021|url=https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/politics-government/20210630-50773/|title=Half-century of subsidies hamper Okinawa's path to self-reliance|publisher=The Japan News|access-date=30 March 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915175015/https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/politics-government/20210630-50773/|archive-date=15 September 2024|url-status=live}}</ref>

The 34 U.S. military installations on Okinawa are financially supported by the U.S. and Japan.<ref name=huff/> The bases provide jobs for Okinawans, both directly and indirectly; in 2011, the U.S. military employed over 9,800 Japanese workers in Okinawa.<ref name="huff">{{cite web|first1=Stephen|last1=Nessen|title=Okinawa U.S. Marine Base Angers Residents And Governor|website=[[HuffPost]]|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-nessen/okinawa-us-marine-base-an_b_804460.html|access-date=August 19, 2014|date=January 4, 2011|archive-date=November 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131117095535/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-nessen/okinawa-us-marine-base-an_b_804460.html|url-status=live}}</ref> {{as of|2012}} the bases accounted for up to 5% of the economy.<ref>Hongo, Jun. (May 16, 2012) [http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120516f2.html Economic reliance on bases won't last, trends suggest] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530071820/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120516f2.html |date=May 30, 2012 }}. The Japan Times. Retrieved on August 16, 2013.</ref> However, Koji Taira argued in 1997 that because the U.S. bases occupy around 20% of Okinawa's land, they impose a [[deadweight loss]] of 15% on the Okinawan economy.<ref>Taira, Koji (1997). [http://www.jpri.org/publications/workingpapers/wp28.html#Taira 'The Okinawan Charade'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010012128/http://www.jpri.org/publications/workingpapers/wp28.html#Taira |date=October 10, 2014 }} Japan Policy Research Institute, Working Paper No. 28</ref> The Tokyo government also pays the prefectural government around ¥10 billion per year<ref name=huff/> in compensation for the American presence, including, for instance, rent paid by the Japanese government to the Okinawans on whose land American bases are situated.<ref name="g2mil.com">[http://www.g2mil.com/okinawa-solution.htm The Okinawa Solution]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626020236/http://www.g2mil.com/okinawa-solution.htm |date=June 26, 2012 }}. G2mil.com. Retrieved on August 16, 2013.</ref><!---these figures are from a very pov anti-American source---> A 2005 report by the U.S. Forces Japan Okinawa Area Field Office estimated that in 2003 the combined U.S. and Japanese base-related spending contributed $1.9 billion to the local economy.<ref name="JapanTimes">{{cite news|first1=Eric|last1=Johnston|title=Okinawa base issue not cut and dried with locals|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2006/03/28/national/okinawa-base-issue-not-cut-and-dried-with-locals/|access-date=November 21, 2014|date=March 28, 2006|newspaper=The Japan Times Online|archive-date=September 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904010323/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2006/03/28/national/okinawa-base-issue-not-cut-and-dried-with-locals/|url-status=live}}</ref> On January 13, 2015, in response to the citizens electing governor [[Takeshi Onaga]], the national government announced that Okinawa's funding will be cut, due to the governor's stance on removing the US military bases from Okinawa, which the national government does not want happening.<ref name="JapanTimes2">{{cite web|first1=Isabel|last1=Reynolds|first2=Maiko|last2=Takahashi|title=Japan cuts Okinawa budget after election of Anti-base governor|website=[[Bloomberg News]]|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-14/japan-cuts-okinawa-budget-after-election-of-anti-base-governor|access-date=November 21, 2014|date=January 13, 2015|archive-date=April 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427194715/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-14/japan-cuts-okinawa-budget-after-election-of-anti-base-governor|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="JapanTimes3">{{cite web|title=Gov't cuts budget for Okinawa economic development|url=http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/govt-cuts-budget-for-okinawan-economic-development|access-date=February 4, 2015|date=January 15, 2015|archive-date=February 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205035920/http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/govt-cuts-budget-for-okinawan-economic-development|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau is exploring the possibility of using facilities on the military bases for large-scale meetings, conferencing, exhibitions events.<ref>{{cite news|title=Okinawa looks to offer more unique venues|url=http://www.ttgmice.com/article/okinawa-looks-to-offer-more-unique-venues/|access-date=November 15, 2012|newspaper=TTGmice|date=September 6, 2012|archive-date=January 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115170808/http://www.ttgmice.com/article/okinawa-looks-to-offer-more-unique-venues/|url-status=live}}</ref>