As of 1 October 2020, the village has an estimated population of 4,118 and the density of 180 persons per km2.[2] Ie is in a period of sustained population loss, and has the highest rate of population loss in Okinawa Prefecture.[3] The total area of the village is 22.75 square kilometres (8.78 sq mi). Iejima Airport serves the village.[4] Out of 22.78 km2 land of Ie, approximately a third, or 8.02 km2 is occupied by Ie Shima Airfield, a training facility, managed by the United States Marine Corps.
Geography
The Village of Ie covers the entirety of Ie Island, and is located to the northwest of Okinawa Island off the Motobu Peninsula. The village is connected to Okinawa via ferry service.[1]
Approximately a half of residents lost their lives during the battle of Ie, and 1,500 villagers who survived the battle were removed to the internment camps in Kerama Islands or an arid strip of Henoko Bay, the northeast area of Okinawa island. Residents of Ie were allowed to return to the island during a two-year period starting in May 1946. Life in the village was hard after World War II; little housing remained on the island, and prewar property boundaries were difficult or impossible to determine. Residents in the immediate post-war period lived in homes made of scavenged materials and relied on American rations for food.[4]
An elementary school was built immediately after the war, and the first village hall was constructed in front of Udunyama. One third of the village remains under U.S. military control.[4]
The Village of Ie has a single airport, Iejima Airport, but regular flights to Naha ended in 1977. The runway of the airport were part of the Ie Shima Airfield complex built during World War II. Iejima Airport is primarily used in training exercises by the United States military.[1]
Ferry
The Village of Ie is connected to Okinawa Island via ferry service. A passenger and car ferry from Port Toguchi in the town of Motobu takes approximately 30 minutes, with regular service consisting of 4 daily departures from Motobu between 9am and 5pm. The village is also connected to the prefectural capital of Naha via a one-hour high-speed ferry from the Port of Tomari.[1]
Shinjō Kiyohide, 9th Dan Okinawan Uechi-Ryū Master, nine-time all-Okinawa Kata and Kumite Champion.
Anly, a Japanese pop musician, was born and raised on the island. She also serves as the tourism ambassador for Ie.
References
^ abcde"伊江（村）" [Ie]. Nihon Daihyakka Zensho (Nipponika) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2013. OCLC153301537. Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
^平成 22 年国勢調査確報値: 沖縄県の人口、世帯、住居 [2010 National Census Confirmed Data: the Population, Households, and Residences of Okinawa Prefecture] (PDF) (in Japanese). Naha, Okinawa Prefecture: Statistics Section, Planning Dept., Okinawa Prefecture. 2010. Retrieved Jan 21, 2013.
^ abc"伊江村" [Ie]. Nihon Rekishi Chimei Taikei (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2013. OCLC173191044. Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
