Sugar Cane Factory on Okinawa, 1991

It's harvest time and on Okinawa that means sugar cane. In the farming industry, over 60% of Okinawa's products are invested in sugar cane. Nakada-san and his wife have five tons to collect this year. He says Okinawa may need to make changes for the future, perhaps with new machines. It will be difficult for our younger generation to farm sugar cane, so I don't expect that. Although they can support in other ways. Experience tells you what to harvest and what to keep in the field. Each farmer has a certain time for the trucks to collect their crop. The bundles are loaded up and taken to one of five sugar manufacturers on island. Daiichi Seto was the first modern sugar manufacturer built on Okinawa in 1961 and is located in Itoman. Last year they processed 14,472 tons of sugar compared to 206,667 tons processed island-wide. After the sugar cane is weighed and inspected, the trucks line up to drop off their load and then it's back to the farms for more sugar cane. It's almost a continuous process from the middle of January to the end of March. During sugar manufacturing, just about every part of the crop is used. The cane stalk is first sent through a press and the sweet sap is squeezed out. What's left of the stalk can be used as feed. A coral powder is added to the juice which draws out impurities which are processed and used as fertilizer. What's left is a syrupy juice which is heated in large vats where the process is carefully monitored and controlled. After the heating process, the syrupy substance is put through a centrifuge which separates the water and the sugar molecules and what comes out is something sweet and familiar. For final refinement, this sugar is shipped to Japan. In Japan, only Hokkaido and Okinawa produce sugar and the Japanese government protects Okinawa's sugar industry. I wouldn't want foreign trade. From the field to the factory, each farmer does his part to keep this vital industry running strong.