Tag - okinawa

 
 

OKINAWA

The Kadena U.S. Air Force Base in Kadena, Okinawa Prefecture, in August 2023. An airman from the base was arrested last weekend for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 7, 2025
Two U.S. servicemen arrested in Okinawa over assaults
A 25-year-old airman is accused of punching his girlfriend while, separately, a 21-year-old marine allegedly put his hands around the neck of an unacquainted man.
A front-page article from July 1950 reported that Kyoto's historic Kinkakuji had been "totally razed" in a fire.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jul 5, 2025
Japan Times 1950: Kyoto’s ‘Golden Temple’ burns to the ground
The historic Kinkakuji was destroyed in an act of arson in July 1950, a shocking event that would serve as the inspiration for a novel by Yukio Mishima.
The sailing of four China Coast Guard vessels around the Senkaku Islands on Thursday was the first intrusion by Chinese official vessels into the Japanese waters around the islands since Jun. 14, according to the Japan Coast Guard.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2025
Four China Coast Guard ships enter Japanese waters off the Senkakus
The move marks the first intrusion by Chinese official vessels into the Japanese waters around the islands since June 14, the Japan Coast Guard said.
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 4, 2025
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
This is the first direct apology from the U.S. military to the Okinawa Prefectural Government for a series of sexual crimes committed by U.S. servicemen in the prefecture.
A worker stirs a vat of fermenting Thai rice and kōji mold, used for making awamori, at a distillery in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2021.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2025
Okinawa city seeks special zone status for production of local distilled spirit
The city plans to send the special zone status application jointly with the Okinawa Prefectural Government to the central government.
Self-Defense Forces soldiers take part in an evacuation drill, at Nama Hama Beach on Yonaguni island, Japan's westernmost inhabited island in Okinawa Prefecture, in November 2023.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2025
Japan aims to complete Yonaguni evacuation shelter in 2028
The project was started bearing in mind a possible emergency over Taiwan in the Nansei southwestern island region.
Five crew members re-create a log boat voyage from Taiwan to Yonaguni island, Okinawa Prefecture, in July 2019.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2025
Rowing from Taiwan to Japan was possible 30,000 years ago, says team
The voyage in a log boat, with no sails, was possible if all the rowers were highly skilled and adjusted their course with the fast Kuroshio current in mind.
According to the indictment, U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton assaulted a woman in Okinawa Prefecture for sexual purposes.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 25, 2025
U.S. Marine sentenced to seven years for sexual assault in Okinawa
U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton asserted his innocence during his trial, saying he did not try to have sex with the woman or commit violence.
Members of the Coastal Surveillance Unit participate in a ceremony commemorating the first anniversary of the Self-Defense Forces' Yonaguni Garrison in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2017.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025
Okinawa locals wary as SDF presence grows amid China threat
The SDF buildup has spurred concerns across the political spectrum in Okinawa, and many residents remain deeply worried over its growing presence.
Yoshiko Goya speaks of her wartime experience during an interview in Nishihara, Okinawa Prefecture, on May 23.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jun 23, 2025
Battle of Okinawa 1945: Memories of fire, flight and loss
As an 8-year-old, Yoshiko Goya fled her birthplace with six other family members and relatives. In the end, only three survived.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a ceremony in the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture, on Monday.
JAPAN / History
Jun 23, 2025
Okinawa marks 80th anniversary of end of ferocious ground battle
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba spoke of the horrific ground war involving Okinawan residents, noting that 200,000 lives were lost, or about one in four Okinawans.
Former boy soldier Yoshimitsu Zukeyama speaks of his wartime experience during an interview in May in Ogimi, Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2025
Battle of Okinawa turned child into a 'ghost soldier' still haunted by memories
Emotionally and physically depleted, the boy began to unravel after the war ended, with locals calling him a “ghost soldier.”
Takeshi Yamaguchi, a professor at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa Prefecture, speaks during an online interview on June 3.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2025
Okinawa remains at mercy of armed forces, says expert
The prefecture hosts many U.S. military bases, following its occupation by U.S. armed forces after Japan's defeat in the Battle of Okinawa in the closing days of World War II.
A U.S. military plane takes off at the Kadena U.S. Air Force Base in Okinawa Prefecture in August 2023.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2025
Okinawa marks 80 years since 'Typhoon of Steel,' with U.S. presence still a burden
On June 23, Japan’s southernmost prefecture commemorates the end of the Battle of Okinawa, among the bloodiest ground battles of World War II.
The city of Naha in Okinawa Prefecture. The Naha District Court is scheduled to hand down a ruling on June 24 for a sexual assault case involving a U.S. Marine.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 9, 2025
Ten-year sentence sought for U.S. marine in Okinawa for sexual assault
The court is scheduled to hand down a ruling on June 24.
The Kadena U.S. Air Force Base in Okinawa Prefecture. An emergency call was made at around 11:15 a.m. reporting that a small-scale explosion occurred at a storage depot for unexploded shells.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2025
Explosion at U.S. air base in Okinawa injures four
Four Ground Self-Defense Force members were injured in the incident, but none of them are in critical condition.
Junglia Okinawa, a theme park, is scheduled to open July 25 near Nakijin, Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2025
Junglia Okinawa theme park shown to press
Covering about 60 hectares, the park sits between the city of Nago and the village of Nakijin and was designed around the concept of blending nature with luxury.
Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, meet with survivors of the war as they visit the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum in Itoman on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2025
Imperial family mourns WWII victims in two-day visit to Okinawa
The visit was Princess Aiko's first to Okinawa, which reflected the imperial couple's wish that memories of the war be passed onto the next generation.
The government plans to develop a shelter strategy for foreign armed attacks by the end of fiscal 2025, according to sources.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 5, 2025
Japan to decide plans for shelters from armed attacks within fiscal 2025
The government will also compile basic guidelines for evacuating residents in Okinawa Prefecture's Sakishima Islands, apparently with a possible Taiwan contingency in mind.
Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, depart from Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Wednesday for Okinawa to mourn those killed in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II 80 years ago.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2025
Emperor's family arrives in Okinawa
On Thursday, the family will offer flowers at a monument in Naha for the victims of the Tsushima Maru evacuation ship.

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