World War II

Today I learned a little about what Miyakojima went through during World War II.

Okinawa is a few hundred kilometers from Miyakojima, which is a well known location for ground battle between the U.S. and Japanese troops. Because of the close proximity to Okinawa, the Japanese military sent troops to Miyakojima in case they needed back up at any of the nearby islands.

The pre-war population of Miyakojima was about 35,000 people, and the population of the island doubled during the war due to the large number of Japanese soldiers that were stationed on the island. This caused a huge shortage of food and water, which was only intensified when U.S ships blocked the soldiers on Miyakojima from leaving for other island.

In addition, the island of Miyakojima was bombed by the U.S. troops. This destroyed a great number of the buildings on the island, the botanical gardens, and many of the farming institutions that existed on this island at the time. The majority of buildings here were created following the war and the gardens have been rebuilt.

The people on Miyakojima, like those we met in Tokyo, concentrate on the present and future instead of the past. There is a large degree of concentration on peace education in Japan and the idea of peace was written into the constitution of the country that was established following World War II.

Also, the people of Japan always flash a peace sign whenever their picture is being taken.