Ca’ Foscari Japanese Studies

Series | Ca’ Foscari Japanese Studies
Edited book | Small-scale Fisheries in Japan
Chapter | Use of Explosives in the Southwestern Archipelago Immediately after World War II

Use of Explosives in the Southwestern Archipelago Immediately after World War II

Abstract

Immediately after the Fifteen Years’ War with the US, China, and colonizing states of Southeast Asia, the Japanese suffered from general shortage especially food, which got worse when the repatriates from Taiwan, Micronesia, Southeast Asia and Manchuria began their new life in Japan. To make their living, both former occupants and newcomers employed all means, among which use of explosives or ‘dynamite fishing’ near the coast. This technique is now prohibited to protect fishing grounds, but the emergent economic and social conditions let the people show the generosity to overlook it. The paper reconstructs the general conditions of this fishing in coastal villages in the Southwestern Archipelago as a step to clarify the farther details of fishing innovation on individual base.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: July 17, 2017 | Accepted: Nov. 15, 2017 | Published March 26, 2018 | Language: en

Keywords Yaeyama ArchipelagoBlast fishingWorld War II


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