Abstract
The Occupation of Okinawa ought to be regarded as a transnational project by looking at transnational movements of people, goods, information, and services not only between the United States and Japan/Okinawa, but in a more regional context, as this event involved actors other than the U.S. and the Japanese governments. During the immediate post-war years, Third Country Nationals (TCNs) from various Asian countries came to work on the construction and staffing of these U.S. bases. Filipinos comprised majority of these TCNs who were engaged in occupations ranging from semi-skilled labour to the professional class. These TCNs also faced several issues such as racial discrimination in the workplace. It is argued that the hiring of these workers illustrates classed, gendered, and racialized hierarchies in base work.
The United States Army now foresees a need for about 8000 Filipino labourers to be employed directly by the United States outside the Philippines including the Mariananas-Bonins [sic], Okinawa and elsewhere in the Pacific.
Nathaniel P. Davis, Charge d’Affaires ad interim, 13 May 1947 (Recruitment of Filipino Laborers and Employees by the United States Army, Treaties and International Acts Series 3646, p. 1.)
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Notes
- 1.
Foreign Service National.
- 2.
During fieldwork in Okinawa in 2012, I personally met a Filipino female dentist—Dr Santos (pseudonym) who has been based in Okinawa since the immediate post-war years. She moved to Okinawa with her Filipino husband, also a dentist, to work on base during the Occupation Period. At the time of conversation, she lives with her son and daughter-in-law in Ginowan City. She still maintains her Filipino nationality.
- 3.
Airgram from the U.S. Department of State to Manila, 27 February 1967.
- 4.
General Headquarters, Far East Command, Adjutant General’s Office Radio and Cable Center, Message from CG PHILRYCOM (Philippines-Ryukyus Command), 8 January 1947.
- 5.
Telegram from U.S. Embassy Tokyo to U.S. Embassy Manila on the Filipino Employees on Okinawa, June 1972.
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Correspondence Data
General Headquarters, Far East Command, Adjutant General’s Office Radio and Cable Center, Message from CG PHILRYCOM (Philippines-Ryukyus Command), 8 January 1947 (Declassified: 20 August 1975).
Letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila, 22 July 1957. Department of Foreign Affairs Records.
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Recruitment of Filipino Laborers and Employees by the United States Army, Treaties and International Acts Series 3646, Agreement Between the United States of America and the Republic of the Philippines, Effected by Exchange of Notes, Signed at Manila, May 13 and 16, 1947. U.S. Department of State.
United States of America Department of State. Telegram from American Embassy in Tokyo to American Embassy in Manila (Subject: U.S. Forces Filipino Employees on Okinawa), June 1972. Box 1791, F3.
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Zulueta, J.O. (2020). Transnational Movements During the Occupation of Okinawa: Third Country Nationals and the U.S. Bases. In: Transnational Identities on Okinawa’s Military Bases. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9787-6_3
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