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Paper short abstract

This paper examines the social construction of US military power through the labor movement of Okinawan base workers. While US officials portrayed them as cooperative supporters, workers formed strong unions, especially Zengunrō, to assert labor rights and expose tensions within the US empire.

Paper long abstract

Charles A. Willoughby, who had accompanied Douglas MacArthur to Tokyo for the occupation of Japan and served as the chief intelligence officer (G2) of GHQ, once recognized the contributions of Japanese civilian workers. He remarked, “The Japanese workers cooperated willingly and cheerfully with us,” supporting the U.S. war effort in Korea. These civilian workers employed at the U.S. military bases and facilities, ranging from dock workers and engineers to housemaids and those employed at clubs and other recreational facilities for American soldiers, have been collectively known as “base workers (Kichirodosha).” In Okinawa, workers employed at the U.S. military bases grew from 6,519 in 1946 to 37,771 in 1948. During the Korean War, the number of base workers reached 300,000 in mainland Japan and 63,000 in Okinawa. In contrast to Willoughby’s idealized image of Japanese civilian workers, they organized powerful unions, actively demanded improvements in working conditions, and defended workers’ rights.

My paper explores the social construction of US military power by focusing on the labor movement of base workers in Okinawa, especially the activism of the All-Okinawa Military Workers’ Union (Zengunrō), which represented base workers Okinawa. Founded in 1963, Zengunrō became the largest labor union in Okinawa, reaching a peak membership of 22,000 in 1968. A close examination of base workers in Okinawa, along with their experiences both within and in opposition to the U.S. empire, contributes to our understanding of the “inner workings” of the U.S. empire. (298 words)