to operation and continued to operate until 1983. After the return of Okinawa to Japanese administration in 1972, the prefecture considered plans to develop rail lines, and opened the Okinawa Monorail in August, 2003. A people mover operated within the grounds of the Expo '75, the Okinawa International Maritime Exposition, from July 20, 1975 to January 18, 1976. The 1.4 km line connected North Gate Station and South Gate Station, making an intermediate stop at International Plaza Station. Lines Okinawa Electric Railway and Okinawa Electric Company Saiga Tokichi, operator of Saiga Electric Company of Kyoto, established Okinawa Electric in 1909. In 1911, he established the Okinawa Electric Railway to link Naha and Shuri with a trolley line. The segment from Daimon-mae to Shuri opened in 1914, and that from Daimon-mae to Tsudo began operation in 1917. However, the line lost passengers to competition from buses, and the line ceased operations in 1933. Okinawa Railway Although the original intent was to transport sugar cane by handcar to the refinery in Nishihara, the line was unused in the off-season, and the operator set up a separate company to provide passenger service on the line. It opened in November 1914, providing service between Yonabaru and Konaha. In 1916 it extended its route to Awase. It ceased operations in 1944. Itoman horse-drawn carriage line The Itoman line directly connected Naha and Itoman by horse-drawn carriage. In June 1919 the segment from Kakihana to China opened. In May 1920, the rest of the line opened. Under competition from buses, the line lost ridership, and operations came to an end in 1935. The line formally ended in 1939. Expo '75 From July 20, 1975 to January 18, 1976, a people mover built by Kobe Steel, operated within the grounds of Expo '75. It was the first people mover line to operate in Japan. Minamidaitōjima The line that operated on Minamidaitōjima is known by various names; among them are and . The first rails laid down in Okinawa, they included lines that encircled the island and others that relayed traffic to the harbor. The tracks exceeded 30 km in length. In addition to hauling sugar cane, they also conveyed passengers and mails. In the Meiji period, Minamidaitōjima was uninhabited, but in 1900, Tamaoki Shokai began to develop the island, and started both the sugar refinery and the handcar railway in 1902. In 1917 the commercial rights passed