Okinawa has the lowest prefectural per-capita income in Japan.  According to Okinawa Labor Bureau, that is because is also has lower labor productivity than any other prefecture.

Especially, the labor productivity level in manufacturing sector, wholesale and retail industry is only about 60% of the national average.  The statistics from 2011 show that the national average of labor productivity is about ¥8 million, whereas in Okinawa, it remains at ¥6 million.   Food-related industry accounts for 47.9% of the total of manufacturing sector here, which is much higher than the national average of 14.8%.

On one hand, general machinery, electrical machine industry and transport equipment industry account for less than  1% in the Okinawa, whereas the national average is over 10 %. Such industrial structure influences the low rate of the labor productivity in the prefecture.

However, it’s not easy to change the industrial structure drastically. Okinawa Labor Bureau pointed out that it is more effective to improve the labor productivity in the construction industry, lodging industry and restaurant business, which relatively hire more people than other sectors.  In order to improve the labor productivity, Okinawa Labor Bureau recommends taking advantage of Okinawa’s peculiar characteristics of the industrial structure and advance the cultivation of human resources.   To undertake service improvement leads to improvement in the labor productivity, and that then, leads to rising income levels.

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