Commentary / Japan Jul 22, 2019
Okinawa contradictions need to be fixed
by Robert D. Eldridge.
The LDP has lost almost all elections in Okinawa despite the government's candidates consistently being the more qualified and experienced.
Books Jul 20, 2019
'Night in the American Village': Touching base with the women of Okinawa
by Kris Kosaka
Akemi Johnson's "Night in the American Village" is a meticulously researched volume on the intersection of cultures, the divides of power and gender, and on the politics and people behind the overseas American military presence.
National / Crime & Legal Jul 17, 2019
The Okinawa Prefectural Government on Wednesday filed another lawsuit against the central government as it seeks to halt the ongoing landfill work for the relocation of a U.S. air base within the prefecture. In the lawsuit filed with the Naha branch of the Fukuoka High ...
National Jul 17, 2019
Japanese record-breaking free diver Sayuri Kinoshita, 30, dies after fall from apartment
Record-breaking Japanese free diver Sayuri Kinoshita died Monday following a fall from her apartment in Okinawa Prefecture last week, according to police and her family. Sayuri Kinoshita, 30, was rushed to hospital early Thursday morning following an emergency call from a neighbor who found her ...
National Jul 13, 2019
Magnitude 6.1 quake strikes area north of Okinawa Prefecture
An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck north of Japan's islands of Okinawa on Saturday, the United States Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the quake, which hit at a depth of 257 km (160 miles), about 346 km ...
National / Politics Jul 12, 2019
Okinawa to sue Japanese government again over Futenma base landfill work
The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly approved on Thursday a bill to launch an appeal against the central government over landfill work needed for the relocation of a U.S. base in the prefecture. The suit will call for the reversal of land minister Keiichi Ishii's decision to ...
National Jul 9, 2019
Team successfully replicates imagined ancient sea migration from Taiwan to Okinawa
A team of Japanese and Taiwanese paddlers in a dugout canoe on Tuesday successfully replicated a hypothetical human migration between Taiwan and Okinawa about 30,000 years ago. During the two-day, 200-kilometer voyage from Taitung County, southeastern Taiwan, to Yonaguni Island, Okinawa Prefecture, the team of ...
Business Jul 9, 2019
Okinawa town adopts directive to promote awamori rice-based spirit
A town assembly in Okinawa Prefecture on Tuesday unanimously adopted a directive to promote toasting with awamori, a rice-based distilled spirit, as part of efforts to revitalize the local economy. The "ordinance" implemented by the municipal assembly of Yonabaru is the first in the country ...
National / Politics Jul 8, 2019
Canoeists begin another attempt to replicate ancient sea migration between Taiwan and Japan
Museums in Taiwan and Japan on Sunday launched a third attempt to replicate a hypothetical human migration from Taiwan to Okinawa about 30,000 years ago. The voyage in a dugout canoe is one of multiple research projects signed in 2017 between Taiwan's National Museum of ...
National | Regional Voices: Okinawa Jul 5, 2019
Tourism boom and psychological stress behind Okinawa bus driver shortage
Local bus operators in Okinawa Prefecture are facing a serious shortage of drivers, which is attributed to increased demand amid a tourism boom and the physically and emotionally taxing nature of the profession. "Overtime hours have increased to compensate for the labor shortage, adding more ...
National / Social Issues Jul 4, 2019
Okinawa farm kicks off vanilla bean project to employ the poor and disabled
by Kumiko Kanetomo
Taking a cue from soaring world prices for vanilla, an Okinawa farm has started cultivating the valuable spice in an initiative aimed at promoting the employment of low-income workers and people with disabilities. Vanilla, called "green gold" for the prices it fetches, requires a labor-intensive ...