National / History Jul 29, 2015

How an old banyan tree kept a WWII soldier alive

The children and grandchildren of a former Imperial Japanese Army soldier visit Ie Island in Okinawa Prefecture by ferry from Okinawa Island every spring.

National / History May 15, 2015

Okinawa man credits mother with saving family from WWII mass suicide

Yoshikatsu Yoshikawa credits his mother for saving him and his seven brothers and sisters from mass suicide on the island of Tokashiki during the Battle of Okinawa in the closing days of World War II. Hundreds of residents of Tokashiki, one of the Kerama Islands, ...

National Dec 8, 2009

Vision of wine tourism flourishes in Yamanashi

KOFU, Yamanashi Pref. — A sip of locally produced wine in Yamanashi six years ago gave businessman Takayuki Sasamoto a vision that his home prefecture could become a center for wine tourism similar to wine-producing areas in Europe and North America. Sasamoto, 38, saw a ...