was a colloquial term used to refer to a form of military

scrip A scrip (or ''wikt:chit#Etymology 3, chit'' in India) is any substitute for legal tender. It is often a form of credit (finance), credit. Scrips have been created and used for a variety of reasons, including exploitative payment of employees un ...

used in

post-war A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...

US-Occupied Okinawa from April 15, 1946, to September 1958."B yen." ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia"). '' Ryūkyū Shimpō''. 2003-3-1. Accessed 2009-2-24. Officially, it was called .Kadekawa, Manabu. ''Okinawa Champloo Encyclopedia'' (沖縄チャンプルー事典). Tokyo: Yama-Kei Publishers, 2001. p 176.

Currency

The B yen bills were of a blue or green color, and came in eight different denominations.

History

Two different types of

were issued during the occupation of

Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan. It consists of three main island groups—the Okinawa Islands, the Sakishima Islands, and the Daitō Islands—spread across a maritime zone approximately 1,000 kilometers east to west an ...

by US forces. The United States military used a separate scrip called " A type yen" while "B type yen" were only used by the local civilians. In the brief time between the 1945

battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...

and the beginning of the US occupation, the islands went from a currency-free system, relying upon barter and distributions of supplies from the authorities, to the reintroduction of currency with the B yen, the introduction of the new Japanese yen (both "new yen" and "B yen" being used concurrently for a time), and then the establishment of the B yen as the only legal currency."The Currency Switch from B yen to dollars"
B円からドルへの通貨交換
, ''B en kara doru he no tsūkakōkan''). Okinawa Prefectural Archives (沖縄県公文書館) Official Blog. 2008-09-17. Accessed 2009-2-24. Beginning in 1948, the A type yen was deprecated, and B type yen came to be used by military and civilians. Though the rest of

Occupied Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

continued to use regular Japanese yen throughout the occupation, military scrip was introduced in Okinawa because, even at that time, the US military government intended to continue occupation of Okinawa long after ending it in the Home Islands. Steps were taken to prevent

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

which would have resulted from the illegal influx of regular yen from the Home Islands. Once the economy in Okinawa was considered stable enough, the B yen was done away with, and the

US dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

brought into use. An announcement was made by the office of Lt. Gen.

Donald Prentice Booth Donald Prentice Booth (21 December 1902 – 30 October 1993) was a Lieutenant General (United States), lieutenant general in the United States Army. During World War II he was the US Army's youngest theater commander. After World War II he was k ...

, High Commissioner of the Ryukyu Islands and Commanding General of the U.S. Army on the Islands. As of September 16, 1958, the B yen was replaced with the US dollar, at an exchange rate of 120 B yen to the dollar. The exchange rate at the time for the Japanese yen used in mainland Japan was 360 yen to US$1. This was done, in part, to encourage foreign investment by aligning Okinawa's economy with an international standard, though it is often said to have also contributed significantly to the dependence of Okinawa's economy upon the US, and the US military bases located there. After the B yen was demonetised, rather than being incinerated, as is usual with obsolete banknotes, the B yen banknotes were placed into large concrete containers with indelible red dye, which were buried at sea at unrecoverable depths.Civil Affairs Activities in the Ryukyu Islands for the Period Ending 30 September 1958, Volume VI Number II, Published by United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands. Professor Michiko Iha of the

University of the Ryukyus The , abbreviated to , is a Japanese national university in Nishihara, Okinawa, Japan. Established in 1950, it is the westernmost national university of Japan and the largest public university in Okinawa Prefecture. Located in the Senbaru ne ...

has argued that the B yen was part of a scheme by the occupying authorities to keep the dollar strong and yen weak, in order to more cheaply construct and maintain military bases.

References

{{Japanese currency and coinage Japanese yen Banknotes of military authorities Okinawa under United States occupation Currencies of Japan

Currency

History

See also

References