Archive for April, 2012

Recent News

People of Koza Orphanage hold memorial service

People of Koza Orphanage hold memorial service

March 27, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

On March 26, the Okinawa Municipal Historiographic Office held a memorial service for the children who died between 1945 and 1949 in the Koza Orphanage, which was located in what is now the Sumiyoshi area. Twenty-two people who lost their parents and spent their childhood in the orphanage attended the service and prayed for their now deceased friends to rest in peace. The deceased have no living relatives. The people also visited an exhibition of the Koza Orphanage...

 

Law suit to halt noise from U.S. Marine Air Station Futenma filed by 3129 people

Law suit to halt noise from U.S. Marine Air Station Futenma filed by 3129 people

March 31, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

On March 30, 3129 people living around U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, including the residents of Ginowan, Urasoe and Kitanakagusuku, filed a law suit with the Okinawa Branch of Naha District Court seeking to halt the noise from the base during the early...

Residents of Henza Island pray to the ocean for prosperity at Sangwacha

Residents of Henza Island pray to the ocean for prosperity at <em>Sangwacha</em>

March 26, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

On Henza Island in Yonashiro, Uruma for three days from March 24, or March 3 on the lunar calendar, the traditional ceremony sangwacha was held. On nakanuhi, or the middle day of March 25, a tudanuiyu ceremony was held to pray for a good...

Naha Port records its highest container load handling volume

March 27, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

In the 2011 fiscal year Naha Port recorded its highest ever container load handling volume, a total of 213919 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit – a 20 foot long container), an increase of 3.3% over the previous year. This is a preliminary calculation carried out...

Okinawa Contents Bazaar held to export digital video works to the global market

Okinawa Contents Bazaar held to export digital video works to the global market

March 27, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

The Okinawa Contents Bazaar was held on March 25 and 26 in the 4th Okinawa International Movie Festival, at the Okinawa Convention Center, Ginowan City. About 20 production companies and visual artists from the United States and Asia came to the venue to meet Japanese...

Hamauri held at beaches – people purify themselves

<em>Hamauri</em> held at beaches - people purify themselves

March 24, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

On March 24, which is May 3 in the lunar calendar, a ceremony called hamauri was held at beaches around Okinawa. Every year, Okinawan people go to the beaches where they soak their hands and feet in seawater to cleanse themselves as they pray for their...

Okinawa governor rejects environmental impact assessment report

Okinawa governor rejects environmental impact assessment report

March 28, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

On March 27, a representative of the Civil Engineering and Construction Division of the Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG) submitted a written statement of opinion from Governor of Okinawa Hirokazu Nakaima to Okinawa Defense Bureau (ODB) with regard to the land...

Mezzo soprano soloist Sayaka Shigeshima signs a two-year contract with the Weimar National Theater in Germany

Mezzo soprano soloist Sayaka Shigeshima signs a two-year contract with the Weimar National Theater in Germany

March 23, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

Mezzo soprano singer Sayaka Shigeshima from Nanjo has signed a two-year contract to perform with the Weimar National Theater in Germany from September. Her first performance, in October, will be Verdi’s Falstaff in which she plays the role of Meg, who receives...

New PHS product featuring traditional Ryukyuan culture

New PHS product featuring traditional Ryukyuan culture

March 23, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

Willcom Okinawa, a PHS company in Naha, has produced an Okinawan traditional lacquered Ie-Denwa, a fixed-line style PHS, as one of their products. The receiver is designed using raden, a Japanese decorative technique, featuring a design of great...

Okinawa International Movie Festival Opens – 350 movie stars and artists walk on the red carpet

Okinawa International Movie Festival Opens - 350 movie stars and artists walk on the red carpet

March 25, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

On March 24, the 4th Okinawa International Movie Festival commenced at Ginowan and other places around Okinawa. About 350 movie stars and artists, including a comedy duo from Okinawa and popular comedians from the main islands of Japan, walked on the 300-meter long...

Diesel fuel leaks out of underground tank in Kadena Ammunition Depot

March 23, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

On March 21, in the Kadena Ammunition Depot, 113 liters of diesel fuel leaked out of an underground fuel tank that is not currently being used. On March 22, through Okinawa Defense Bureau, Kadena Airbase officials informed the Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG)...