Economy The pre-war economy of Karafuto was based on fishing, forestry and agriculture, together with extraction of coal and petroleum. In terms of industry, the paper industry and the charcoal production industry was well developed. Karafuto suffered from a labor shortage through most of its history, and tax incentives were provided to encourage immigration. During World War II, a large number of Koreans were also forcibly relocated to Karafuto. An extensive railway network was constructed in Karafuto to support the extraction of natural resources. The maintained 682.6 kilometers of track in four main lines and an additional 58.2 kilometers of track. Government Karafuto was administered from the central government in Tokyo as the under the of the Home Ministry. The Colonization Bureau became the in 1923 at which time Karafuto was officially designated an overseas territory of the Empire of Japan. When the Ministry of Colonial Affairs was absorbed into the new Ministry of Greater East Asia in 1942, the administration of Karafuto was separated, and Karafuto became an integral part of the Japanese archipelago. Directors of the Karafuto Agency Major cities As of 1945, Karafuto was divided into four subprefectures, which in turn were subdivided into 11 districts, in turn divided into 41 municipalities (one city, 13 towns, and 27 villages). Karafuto's largest city was Toyohara, while other major cities included Esutoru in the north central and Maoka in the south central region. The list below are the towns and the city of the prefecture. These in italics are the corresponding current Russian names. Esutoru Subprefecture () Towns Chinnai (, Krasnogorsk) Esutoru (, Uglegorsk) Nayoshi (, Lesogorskoye) Tōro (, Shakhtyorsk) Maoka Subprefecture () Towns Honto (, Nevelsk) Maoka (, Kholmsk) Naihoro (, Gornozavodsk) Noda (, Chekhov) Tomarioru (, Tomari) Shikuka Subprefecture () Towns Shirutoru (, Makarov) Shikuka, Shisuka (, Poronaysk) Toyohara Subprefecture () City Toyohara (, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) Towns Ochiai (, Dolinsk) Ōtomari (, Korsakov) Rūtaka (, Aniva) See also Karafuto Fortress Apostolic Prefecture of Karafuto Karafuto Shrine Nishikubo Shrine Sakhalin Ainu language Sakhalin Koreans Kuril Islands dispute Ainu in Russia Notes References Sevela, Marie, "Sakhalin: The Japanese under Soviet rule". History and Memory, January 1998, pp. 41–46. Sevela, Marie, "Nihon wa Soren ni natta toki. Karafuto kara Saharin e no ikô 1945–1948". Rekishigakukenkû, 1995, no. 676, pp. 26–35, 63. External links Secret of Sakhalin Island (Karafuto) Karafuto maps: Karafuto Southern Area under Japanese administration Japanese Karafuto province Japanese view