Archive for August, 2011

Recent News

U.S. veterans claim to have been exposed to toxic defoliant used in eight military facilities in Okinawa during the 1960s and 1970s.

U.S. veterans claim to have been exposed to toxic defoliant used in eight military facilities in Okinawa during the 1960s and 1970s.

August 7, 2011 Ryota Shimabukuro of Ryukyu Shimpo

More than 100 veterans who were stationed on the United States military bases in Okinawa during the 1960s and 1970s have claimed compensation from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for damage to their health caused by exposure to a highly toxic defoliant containing dioxin. These men had worked spraying, storing and transporting the defoliants.
According to VA official documents, an Air Force veteran and others...

 

Okinawan students attend the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony

Okinawan students attend the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony

August 7, 2011 Eriko Tamaki of Ryukyu Shimpo

Second-year students 16-year-old Rei Yohena and Haruka Ohashi of Chatan High School attended a memorial ceremony in Hiroshima on August 6 to mark the 66th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city.
Both students belong to the Chatan Town...

Quartz fragments and human remains excavated at Sakitari Cave, Tamagusuku, Nanjo City

Quartz fragments and human remains excavated at Sakitari Cave, Tamagusuku, Nanjo City

August 5, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo

The staff of the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum held a press conference at the excavation site in Sakitari Cave, Tamagusuku, Nanjo City, on August 4, announcing that they have unearthed three fragments of quartz and one piece of human bone (tooth)....

Typhoon No.9 rips through Okinawa in 46 hours injuring 51 people cutting power to 100000 households

Typhoon No.9 rips through Okinawa in 46 hours injuring 51 people cutting power to 100000 households

August 7, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo
As of 10:00pm on August 6, Typhoon No. 9 is out over the East China Sea, heading north-northwest away from the Okinawa region at 15 kilometers per hour. It left the main island of Okinawa shortly after noon yesterday and Kumejima just after at 1:00pm the same day,...

Children from Fukushima and Okinawa release baby loggerhead turtles

Children from Fukushima and Okinawa release baby loggerhead turtles

August 4, 2011 Yoshiya Hokama of Ryukyu Shimpo

At around 9:00pm on July 28, between 20 and 30 loggerhead turtles were identified as having hatched near the seashore at Ogimi Village. Turtle eggs had been deposited in the grassy area near the shore, and because many of the hatched baby turtles...

Okinawa Junior Study Tour – children of Okinawan immigrants learn about Okinawa

Okinawa Junior Study Tour - children of Okinawan immigrants learn about Okinawa

August 4, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo

At the prefectural government office on August 3, a welcome ceremony was held for the participants of the Okinawa Junior Study Tour, in which a group of children of Okinawan who emigrated overseas learned about the history and culture of Okinawa.
Twenty-three...

New comet discovered in the dust trail of Comet 213P Van Ness

New comet discovered in the dust trail of Comet 213P Van Ness

August 3, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo

On August 2, Ishigakijima Astronomical Observatory announced that it has discovered a new comet in the dust trail of Comet 213P Van Ness, and that it has succeeded in taking a photograph of it in which the new comet resembles a child following along behind its parent.

Two...

Defense White Paper 2011 suggests that relocating Futenma outside of Okinawa will impair the functions of the U.S. Marine Corp

August 3, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo

The government has approved the White Paper on Defense 2011 edition at its Cabinet meeting on August 2. In its opening feature article, the White Paper mentioned the rescue operations for the affected areas in the Great East Japan Earthquake by Japan’s Self Defense...

The Yonabaru Great Tug-of-War, a prayer for quake-hit areas

The Yonabaru Great Tug-of-War, a prayer for quake-hit areas

August 1, Ryukyu Shimpo

The Yonabaru Great Tug-of-War, one of Okinawa’s three largest tug-of-war events, has a history going back more than 400 years in the prefecture. This year’s event, in which the east side of the town pulled against the west side, was held at the Udun-yama Youth Square...

U.S. military returns Gimbaru Training Area to the locals

U.S. military returns Gimbaru Training Area to the locals

August 1, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo

The United States military returned the Gimbaru Training Area to Kin Town and other owners, on July 31, 54 years after the land was appropriated for military use. Twenty-three hectares of a total area of 60 hectares were handed over to the owners. Thirty-three hectares...

Consumer confidence among U.S. military personnel falls due to the strong yen

Consumer confidence among U.S. military personnel falls due to the strong yen

July 29, 2011 Ryota Shimabukuro of the Ryukyu Shimpo

With the yen’s recent sharp appreciation against the U.S. dollar due to the United States debt ceiling crisis, Okinawa City, which plays host to U.S. military bases, is experiencing a downturn in consumer spending by U.S. military and civilian...