'Nothing has changed': Ex-Ryukyu official reflects on effort to reduce Okinawa's U.S. base burden
A former official of the now-defunct Ryukyu government is disappointed that U.S. bases remain concentrated in Okinawa Prefecture despite a proposal made before its 1972 reversion to Japanese control. The prefecture on Wednesday marked the 47th anniversary of its return to Japanese administration from U.S. ...
Ogasawara Islands: Remote witnesses on the front lines of Japanese history
The Ogasawara Islands, also known as the Bonin Islands, have faced a number of unique — if not bizarre — developments over the course of history. Clustered in three groups, the volcanic, tropical chain of more than 30 islets about 1,000 km south of Tokyo ...
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday urged members of his Liberal Democratic Party intensify their efforts in the new year to bring amendments to Japan's pacifist Constitution, calling the country's supreme law a product of its postwar occupation. Touching on the history of his party, ...
MacArthur-requested memoir by Emperor Hirohito expected to fetch up to $150,000 at New York auction
A memoir by the late Emperor Hirohito that offers his recollections of World War II is predicted to fetch between $100,000 (about ¥11.2 million) and $150,000 at an auction in New York. The 173-page document was dictated by the leader — who is posthumously called ...
Testing time for the Constitution at 70
So you fancy yourself as a scholar on Japan's supreme law? Try testing your knowledge of the Constitution's birth with this quiz.
Brando's turn as an Okinawan 'host in a shell' haunts debate over 'yellowface'
Why Marlon Brando's notorious performance in "The Teahouse of the August Moon," as an interpreter for the U.S. Occupation forces in Okinawa, deserves a second look.
Japan fumbles for the legal path to an 'Emprexit'
The obvious route to allowing Emperor Akihito's abdication would involve amending the Imperial Household Law, not constitutional change.
Japan's discriminatory koseki registry system looks ever more outdated
Once part of a panopticon-like system in which everyone would feel that they were being monitored but could also participate in the monitoring process, the kosei is now showing its age.
Henoko protesters begin three days of marches in Okinawa to mark anniversary
Protesters in Okinawa marched on Friday, calling for a halt to the controversial construction of a new U.S. military facility. Sunday marks the 44th anniversary of the prefecture's reversion from American control. Around 700 people, including representatives of civil groups and labor unions, gathered on ...
FBI hopes to peacefully end protesters' armed occupation of Oregon wildlife facility
Federal law enforcement officials on Monday sought a peaceful end to the occupation of the headquarters of a U.S. wildlife refuge in Oregon launched over the weekend by a group of self-styled militiamen angry over the imminent imprisonment of two ranchers. The occupation, which began ...
American director reflects critically on U.S. bases in Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa ended 70 years ago on June 23, yet for some Okinawans the struggle continues as they resist the ongoing presence of the U.S. military. Although Okinawa was legally “returned” to Japan in 1972, U.S. bases still occupy nearly 18 percent ...
The issue of the large U.S. military presence in Okinawa is divisive, deeply rooted and, frankly, one I have never completely understood. Anti-base protests have been going on for decades, and while locals elsewhere in the developed world may have been unhappy with the ...
