Archive for December, 2013

Recent News

Uma-harashi horse racing held in Okinawa Zoo & Museum

<em>Uma-harashi</em> horse racing held in Okinawa Zoo & Museum

December 2, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

Okinawan traditional horse racing, known locally as uma-harashi, was held at the Okinawa Kodomo no Kuni, Zoo & Museum in Okinawa City on December 1. Participants competed on the beauty of their running style and the accuracy of their rhythm. A total of 30 horses, including native Okinawan breeds and others from the West, took part from various parts of the prefecture.

A Yonaguni uma horse called Dunan, which belongs to the Okinawa...

 

OCVB calls for improvement in translation and WiFi services in Okinawa

OCVB calls for improvement in translation and WiFi services in Okinawa

November 27, 2013 Wu Li Jun of Ryukyu Shimpo

The Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau (OCVB) has called upon Okinawa companies to improve their translated materials and public wireless network (WiFi). The bureau aims to enhance the level of hospitality provided for foreign tourists. As of...

Shipping of Japanese tiger prawns starts in Okinawa

Shipping of Japanese tiger prawns starts in Okinawa

November 29, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

The shipping of Japanese tiger prawns has begun in Okinawa before entering the month of December. Prawns are popular as year-end gifts.

Staff at the Ginoza Prawn Farm were busy on November 28 picking and boxing the prawns caught in the local outdoor aquafarm....

Nago Mayor asks Okinawa governor to reject Henoko landfill

November 27, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

On November 27, Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine submitted his written statement of opinion to Deputy Governor Yoshihisa Kawakami on the Henoko landfill application received from the Defense Ministry. The mayor opposes the landfill and has asked Okinawa Governor Hirokazu...

Okinawa governor asks new U.S. ambassador to reduce base burden on Okinawa

Okinawa governor asks new U.S. ambassador to reduce base burden on Okinawa

November 30, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima met U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy for the first time on November 29 in Tokyo. The governor asked the U.S. Ambassador to resolve the Okinawa base issue, saying, “People feel that there is an undue burden of bases...

U.S. government to provide compensation payment to taxi driver robbed and injured by military servicemen

November 29, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

Two U.S. military servicemen received prison sentences for robbing and injuring a taxi driver in Okinawa City in 2006. The U.S. government did not provide compensation to the victim for over four years. At first, they said that could not pay the victim if he...

Tanadui Festival for a good harvest held on Taketomi

<em>Tanadui</em> Festival for a good harvest held on Taketomi

November 21, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

On November 20, the Tanadui Festival, which dates back over 600 years and has been designated as an important intangible cultural heritage by the Japanese government, was held at the Yumuchi utaki (or sacred place) on Taketomi Island. Many tourists...

Blue frog found in the northern mountains a sign of a happy future?

Blue frog found in the northern mountains a sign of a happy future?

November 27, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

Could this blue frog be related to the blue bird of happiness? Akira Oyama, an eco-tour guide of the Ogimi Marugoto Tourism Association, found a blue Okinawan tree frog (Rhacophorus viridis) in the mountains of the northern area of the main island on November...

Ten years of “Peace Candle” protests against building new U.S. military base in Henoko

Ten years of “Peace Candle” protests against building new U.S. military base in Henoko

November 25, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

As the U.S. and Japanese governments work on moving U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to the Henoko district in Nago, the “Peace Candle” gathering held on November 24 in protest against the building of a new base marked its tenth year. Every Saturday...

Naha Mayor Onaga comments on pressure from LDP for Henoko relocation

Naha Mayor Onaga comments on pressure from LDP for Henoko relocation

November 21, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

The headquarters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have put pressure on their Okinawa branch to accept the plan to move U.S. Marine Corps Air Station to Henoko in Nago. Referring to this at a press conference on November 20, Naha Mayor Takeshi Onaga...

[Editorial]Nago mayor’s written opinion reveals injustices of Henoko landfill

November 21, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

The Mayor of Nago has completed his draft statement of opinion on the government plan to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko in Nago. In many as 23 pages of densely formatted text, one by one, the mayor carefully points out the irrational...