No.7 Determinants of Local Okinawans’ Acceptance of Okinawan Emigrants Overseas: Insights from the 7th Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival

This study aimed to clarify the determinants of local Okinawans’ attitudes toward Okinawan emigrants and their descendants living overseas. For this purpose, we examined local Okinawan participants’ attempts to engage with overseas Okinawans at the 7th Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival held in Okinawa Prefecture in 2022. A questionnaire survey was conducted at the festival, and responses were obtained from 258 local Okinawan participants. The results showed that local Okinawan participants demonstrated a generally high level of positive attitudes toward Okinawans living overseas. Based on previous research, attitudes toward overseas Okinawans were examined in terms of feelings of “acceptance” and “confusion.” Using structural equation modeling, this study showed that attitudes toward overseas Okinawans were influenced by shared Okinawan identity and knowledge of Okinawan emigration. In contrast, the frequency of contact with overseas emigration had a significant influence on feelings of confusion. This study revealed that the frequency of contact with Overseas Okinawans is a crucial factor in attitudes toward acceptance of Overseas Okinawans.

Keywords: Emigration, Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival, Local Okinawans, Accepting attitudes, Psychological models