Archive for April, 2013

Recent News

Government will not appeal against the ruling on the death of SDF member from Okinawa

Government will not appeal against the ruling on the death of SDF member from Okinawa

April 13, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

The plaintiffs won approximately 65 million yen in a lawsuit concerning the death of 20 year-old Okinawan Eikichi Shimabukuro, a private first-class in the Self Defense Force, who was killed in 2006 in hand-to-hand combat training at Camp Makomanai in Sapporo, Hokkaido. The Japanese government accepted the ruling of the Sapporo District Court and decided not to appeal.

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera announced the decision in a press conference held...

 

Junior high school teacher returns to Iriomote after eight years

Junior high school teacher returns to Iriomote after eight years

April 6, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

“I’m back at last,” said Shoko Kimura, who had been hoping to work on Iriomote Island. This was where she was first assigned as a fledgling junior high school teacher and on April 1, after a gap of eight years, she arrived at her post at Iriomote Junior...

Third generation Okinawan descendant donates CDs to Peace Memorial Museum

Third generation Okinawan descendant donates CDs to Peace Memorial Museum

April 10, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 9, Derek Ichiro Shiroma, a third-generation Okinawan descendant who teaches sanshin in Hawaii, donated 100 CDs of his original song Uchinanchu nu chimugukuru to the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum. At the Memorial Park, he also gave a...

Okinawa fishermen protest to the Government over agreement with Taiwan on fishing rights

Okinawa fishermen protest to the Government over agreement with Taiwan on fishing rights

April 13, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 12, after Japan and Taiwan had signed a fishing agreement, delegation members from Okinawa, including Okinawa Vice-Governor Kurayoshi Takara, Shinko Kuniyoshi, the chairman of Okinawa Prefecture Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, and Hiroshi...

As many as 60877 Japanese travelers go abroad from Naha Airport in 2012

As many as 60877 Japanese travelers go abroad from Naha Airport in 2012

April 10, 2013 Wu Li Jun of Ryukyu Shimpo

According to the Ministry of Justice, the total number of Japanese nationals going abroad from Naha Airport in 2012 was 60877, the highest total since 2006. With a number of new international routes opening in 2012, it can be said that demand for foreign...

Gishi publishes Uchinaguchi version of Soseki’s I am a Cat

Gishi publishes <em>Uchinaguchi</em> version of Soseki’s <em>I am a Cat</em>

April 5, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

Masanobu Gishi, a 67 year-old resident of Okinawa City, has published an Uchinaguchi (Okinawan dialect) version of Japanese novelist Soseki Natsume’s work Wan ne maya du yaru, or Wagahai wa neko de aru in Japanese, and I am a...

Rich biogeocenosis located 100 meters offshore from Camp Schwab

Rich biogeocenosis located 100 meters offshore from Camp Schwab

April 12, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 8 and 9, staff of the Ryukyu Shimpo took underwater photographs in the area of Oura Bay where the U.S. military plans to construct the alternative facility for Futenma Air Station. The Oura River provides nutrients to help cultivate a rich biogeocenosis...

Okinawa Kenjinkai members enjoy annual events in Tucson, Arizona

Okinawa Kenjinkai members enjoy annual events in Tucson, Arizona

April 1, 2013 Tamiko Suzuki, Correspondent of Ryukyu Shimpo

Located in the southeast of Arizona, the state’s second largest city of Tucson is a resort city surrounded by mountains. This silver and bronze-producing region has developed as a center of the electrical industry. Tucson is also...

US Air Force F-22 makes emergency landing at Kadena Air Base

US Air Force F-22 makes emergency landing at Kadena Air Base

April 4, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

At around 4:10pm on April 3, a U.S. F-22 Raptor stealth fighter deployed to Kadena Air Base made an emergency landing on the base’s southern runway. The Air Force has not released the details of what occurred, but after the stealth jet fighter landed, fuel was...

Children from Fukushima perform Eisa in Tomigusuku

Children from Fukushima perform <em>Eisa</em> in Tomigusuku

April 5, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

On March 31, at the Chura Sun Beach in Toyosaki, Tomigusuku, 115 children from Fukushima Prefecture performed eisa that they had practiced during their stay in Okinawa. They visited Okinawa on the spring holiday Youth Support Project sponsored by the Okinawa...

Chinese ambassador to Japan insists upon the peaceful settlement of the Senkaku Islands dispute

Chinese ambassador to Japan insists upon the peaceful settlement of the Senkaku Islands dispute

April 3 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 2, Ambassador Cheng Yonghua agreed to an exclusive interview with the Ryuyku Shimpo at the Chinese ambassador’s residence in Tokyo.

With regard to Japan-China relations having been negatively affected by the dispute over the Senkaku Islands, othewise...