U.S. Officers urge Okinawans to revive fishing industry.

U.S. Officers urge Okinawans to revive fishing industry. Light fishing boats and nets used by Okinawans are stored in a clearing to await repairs. U.S. Civil Affairs officers accompanying U.S. Tenth Army troops who invaded the Ryukyu (Loochoo) island March 31, 1945, are encouraging the Okinawans to restore their fishing industry, and to plant more rice and soy beans. A U.S. marine Corps correspondent reported May 17, 1945, that the Okinawa farmers would be made self-sufficient, and would produce enough foodstuffs to feed the populace, which had been reduced to almost starvation rations under Japanese rule. Only 375 miles (600 kms) from Japan, Okinawa is a strategic base from which the American assault on industrial areas in Japan has been intensfied. NI 9240