Author: Allan Richarz / Source: Atlas Obscura
Ishigaki-jima, an island in Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture, is best known for its immaculate beaches and waving fields of sugarcane. But it also plays host to one of the more curious remnants of Japan’s post-war occupation by U.
S. forces. Nestled in the island’s bustling city center is the 730 Monument. It commemorates July 30, 1978, the day Okinawa’s motorists switched from driving on the right-hand side of the road to the left.While post-war U.S. control of mainland Japan ceased in 1952, American administration of the Okinawan islands continued until 1972, owing to the provisions of the Treaty of San Francisco. This would have allowed for the potential permanent trusteeship of Okinawa, although this was ultimately not what happened. Among other Americanisms adopted by Okinawa during that time—such as an abiding love of A&W restaurants and SPAM—was the requirement to drive on the right, in contrast to the rest of Japan.
With the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic entering into force in 1977, and earlier 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, both requiring member states to have a uniform traffic direction throughout the country, post-occupation Japan was obliged to bring Okinawa in line with the rest of the country and international practice. Owing to assorted bureaucratic wrinkles, however, it was not…
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