Foreign Doctors on Small Islands of Okinawa

After World War II, Okinawa faced a severe shortage of doctors, worsened by the loss of local physicians during the Battle of Okinawa and difficulties in training new doctors while the prefecture was separated from Japan. To maintain clinics in remote islands, the prefectural government relied heavily on foreign doctors; 15 Korean and 6 Taiwanese doctors served under this foreign physician program. Challenges included media criticism from Korea regarding brain drain and the tragic 1979 murder of Dr. JEONG Bo-ok on Kita Daito Island. These experiences prompted Okinawa to encourage the return of scholarship doctors, expand doctor-dispatch programs, and establish new medical education institutions. By the early 1990s, the situation had improved enough to terminate the foreign doctor program, yet remote islands remain vulnerable to doctor shortages even when overall prefectural numbers appear sufficient.