NEWSWORTHY
Two wheels, not four, the best way to explore Okinawa
Tokashiki Island has all the sun, sand and surf you'd expect from an island in Okinawa. But cycling around the island is another way to experience the area's scenery and history.
U.S. F-15 fighters resume flight training just 2 days after crash off Okinawa
U.S. F-15 fighter jets resumed their flight training operations Wednesday, just two days after an F-15 crashed into the sea off Okinawa and training with the planes was subsequently suspended, the Defense Ministry said. Two F-15 fighters took off from U.S. Kadena Air Base in ...
The government said Tuesday it will start earth-filling work on Aug. 17 at a planned U.S. military base site in Okinawa Prefecture. The Defense Ministry's Okinawa Defense Bureau notified the prefectural government of the scheduled work in Nago in the Henoko coastal area, the relocation ...
The Okinawa Prefectural Government on Monday declared the end of a measles outbreak, after everyone who had been diagnosed with the disease was confirmed to have recovered. According to the prefecture a total of 99 people were found to be infected with measles during the ...
U.S. F-15 from Kadena crashes off Okinawa; pilot rescued by ASDF
U.S. Forces Japan said that the pilot ejected and was recovered by a search and rescue team, adding the crash occurred during a training mission.
Okinawa car rental agencies wary of Chinese tourists with improperly obtained licenses
Believing it would be convenient to get around by car in Okinawa, a 30-something Chinese woman decided to access a major online shopping site before her 2016 trip to obtain a driving permit that would be valid in Japan, since Chinese licenses aren't permitted ...
U.S. Marine commander at Futenma base fired over 'loss of trust and confidence'
The commanding officer at the controversial U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, has been fired over a "loss of trust," the U.S. Marines have announced. A brief statement released Tuesday said Col. Mark S. Coppess had been relieved of duty as ...
Japan asserts importance of one-month deployment of U.S. F-22 fighters
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Tuesday the ongoing temporary deployment of the U.S. military's advanced stealth F-22 fighter jets to a base in Okinawa is a move that will benefit the Japan-U.S. alliance. "As the Defense Ministry, we believe this will contribute to the strengthening ...
Japan drops bid for World Heritage listing covering southwestern islands
The government decided Friday to drop its plan to recommend a chain of islands southwest of the Japanese archipelago for inclusion on UNESCO's World Heritage list this summer. The decision, approved at a Cabinet meeting, came after a UNESCO preliminary review panel opted against recommending ...
The first jets in an air wing of advanced U.S. stealth F-22 fighters that is temporarily being deployed to Japan arrived Wednesday at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture, according to Japanese government sources. The four jets, which arrived at the base at around 3:10 ...
A government panel on Monday called for integrating a forest area in northern Okinawa, including land returned by the U.S. military, with an adjacent national park to better conserve the environment. The panel asked the Environment Ministry incorporate some 3,700 hectares of forest area partly ...
Okinawan activist fights for rights of indigenous Ryukyuans at U.N. forum
Activist Shinako Oyakawa recently used her first participation at a United Nations gathering in New York to highlight Okinawan issues in the context of a broader struggle for the rights of indigenous people around the world. "We really have to make it an international issue ...
