Historical roles of women
Traditionally, women in Okinawa were responsible for spiritual affairs, and the married woman is responsible for maintaining her husband's family shrine called the hinukan. By keeping the spirits of the family's ancestors appeased no misfortune would befall household members. In society, women were either Nuru/noro high ranking public priestess, associated with the nobility, Ukuri (clan priestess), Yuta, or Usagiya (a person without spiritual power like a yuta, but versed in prayer). Yuta are often consulted for a range of different issues, relating to sickness within the family or financial problems. Many hardships in one's life are often perceived to be related to how one's ancestors feel or perceive their treatment. Some people refer to it as Ancestor worship, this is perhaps a little harsh, as ancestors are not worshipped in the literal sense, but rather appeased and negotiated with in order to create positive outcomes. Nuru or Noro are more prominent public positions and in some communities these women are selected to work in this role for three or more years. This is considered to be an undesirable role by many women, as it requires complete commitment to the ancestors and spirits, and adherence to a series of strict rules. Many married women who become priestesses for a period find they are unable to cope with the demands of serving the community and the needs of their families. As a result, many find their marriages breakdown, as sex is prohibited during the term they serve the community. Historically, priestesses who practiced ritual in places such as the Sefa Utaki, were married, however, their husbands were designated to serve them, so they could committed themselves completely to their spiritual tasks.
Some current gender statistics;
Populations of Okinawa 1999
Total: 1,310,254
Female: 667,062
Male: 643,192
Total number of households: 441,643

In Okinawa, women are paid 72.7% of the normal male wage for the same job, compared with women on the mainland who are paid 63.9% of the normal male wage for the same job. This advantage, however, is balanced when considering in Okinawa, the average male wage is 76% of the national wage average in Japan. The average female wage in Okinawa in 1988 was 186,000 yen compared to the mainland average of 214,900 yen (When comparing this to other countries keep in mind in 1988, Japan was at its economic peak, before the economic bubble burst). In times of redundancy the situation in Okinawa mirrors that of the mainland, women usually loose their jobs before men.

There were 242,000 (41.5%) women employed in Okinawa in September 1999, out of a total workforce number of 583,000. There is no distinction between part-time and full-time work in the data sets, however, one can assume that a proportion of total employed women in this statistic were actually employed on a part-time basis.

Sexual harassment is a relatively new area of research for Japan, and it is an area that is very under-estimated in this society. There is not specific legislation that deals with sexual harassment or discrimination of any kind, and thus incidences of sexual harassment are reported to police. In which case, for the police to act, they have to be considered criminal acts, i.e., assault, rape, etc.
I did managed to dig up a recent survey on sexual harassment in the workplace conducted on 856 companies in Okinawa;
Incidents of sexual harassment in the last 12 months;
Have had cases: 15 (2%)
Have had none 651 (76%)
Don't know 190 (22%)

An incident was defined as something that could be considered to be assault/rape or attempted assault/rape.

Have policies against sexual harassment:
Have policies in place: 108 (12.6%)
Planning to introduce policy: 315 (36.8%)
Don't know: 331 (38.7%)

Most Japanese women get married before they turn twenty-five, while the acceptable age for men is over twenty five, and usually three years between spouses is deemed as appropriate. The term "Christmas Cake" is often used to describe a woman passing the suitable age for marriage, like a Christmas cake, no good after the twenty-fifth. Once married, a girl becomes a "shyakaijin", a grown up member of society.

In 1999 there were 8,316 marriages in Okinawa, of which 225 marriages were between Okinawan women and foreign men, 84% of this number to Americans (USA) and the next largest group, Chinese men (3.5%). Okinawans rank 7th in Japan for marriages per 1,000, but has the highest national divorce rate. There were an estimated 22,965 (5.2%) single mother households in 1999, with unwed mothers making up about 10.9% of total single mother households. More than three quarters (77%) of single parent households have an average monthly income of less than 150,000 yen, less than half the average 390,000yen for general working households in Okinawa.

Until only recently, the oral contraceptive pill was banned in Japan (except for special prescriptions due to menstrual problems). The most common method of contraception was and still is abortion, with one in four pregnancies in Japan aborted.
Sexual assault figures are most likely higher than reported, as victims fear social disapproval, or of being suspected of seducing the man involved. Rapists are not commonly imprisoned, but are required to pay damages which vary according to the victim's age, occupation and whether or not she was a virgin prior to the crime.

Paul Saeki
References: Okinawa Women's Issue White paper 2000, and Labour Force Bulletin Okinawa, 2000.