Archive for September, 2016

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Okinawa resort weddings bring 10.4 billion yen to local economy in half a year

Okinawa resort weddings bring 10.4 billion yen to local economy in half a year

September 23, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

On September 21, the Okinawa Prefecture Culture, Tourism and Sports Division summarized the state of achievement of resort weddings in the first half of 2016.

It announced that 6,553 couples had had resort weddings, a rise of 6.4 percent for the same period last year. During the first half of this year, approximately 109,000 tourists visited Okinawa for resort weddings – the figure includes wedding attendants. The economic flow-on to Okinawa is...

 

US Harrier jet crashes off Okinawa

US Harrier jet crashes off Okinawa

September 22, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

A U.S. Marines AV-8 Harrier jet went down in the ocean off Okinawa after taking off from U.S. Kadena Air Base on the afternoon of September 22. According to the U.S. military, the pilot was safe and the Nakagusuku branch of the Japan Coast Guard dispatched rescue...

1,500 people gather to protest against Henoko lawsuit

1,500 people gather to protest against Henoko lawsuit

September 21, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

In a lawsuit brought by the Japanese national government against the Okinawa prefectural government over Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga’s cancellation of a permit to reclaim land in Henoko, Nago City, the presiding judge ruled it illegal for the governor not...

NGOs call for Japan to respect Okinawans’ freedom of expression at UN Human Rights Council

September 21, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

On September 19 at the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland, the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) made a statement delivered by its representative Taisuke Komatsu at the UN Human Rights Council. In the statement...

Okinawa appeals Henoko ruling; final decision expected by year’s end

Okinawa appeals Henoko ruling; final decision expected by year’s end

September 23, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

At 1:30 p.m. on September 23, the Okinawa prefectural government appealed a ruling by the Naha branch of the Fukuoka High Court that judged Governor Onaga’s cancellation of approval to reclaim land to be illegal. The ruling was the result of a lawsuit brought...

Excavated fishhooks show that Paleolithic people fished, ate well

Excavated fishhooks show that Paleolithic people fished, ate well

September 20, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

At the Sakitari cave (survey site 1) in Nanjo, Okinawa where the world’s oldest fishhooks were unearthed, other artifacts including roughly 10,000 Japanese mitten crab claws were also found. The Japanese mitten crab is related to the Chinese mitten crab, which...

World’s oldest fishing hooks from 23,000 years ago discovered in Sakitari Cave in Okinawa

World’s oldest fishing hooks from 23,000 years ago discovered in Sakitari Cave in Okinawa

September 20, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

The world’s oldest known fishing hooks from about 23,000 years ago were discovered at Sakitari Cave in the Valley of Gangala in Nanjo City, Okinawa. An infant’s bones from about 30,000 years ago were also found at the site. These are the second oldest human...

US base issues cast doubt on World Natural Heritage Site designation for Yambaru National Park woodlands

US base issues cast doubt on World Natural Heritage Site designation for Yambaru National Park woodlands

September 15, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

The meeting of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) that was held in Hawaii at the beginning of the month focused on the issue of invasive species. During the meeting the IUCN adopted a recommendation on protecting Okinawa Island against...

Plaintiffs’ groups for lawsuits over noise pollution from military bases in Japan condemn government’s attack against helipad protest in Takae

Plaintiffs' groups for lawsuits over noise pollution from military bases in Japan condemn government's attack against helipad protest in Takae

September 18, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

The National Liaison Council of seven groups of plaintiffs filing lawsuits over noise pollution from military bases held its 4th general meeting on September 18 at Akisihima City Hall in Tokyo.

The council adopted a resolution to oppose military bases’...

Yambaru National Park: Wild forest area in northern Okinawa designated national park

Yambaru National Park: Wild forest area in northern Okinawa designated national park

September 15, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

The Japanese government has designated 16,300 hectares of forest covering the villages of Kunigami,

Higashi, and Ogimi in the northern part of Okinawa Prefecture as its 33rd national park. Named Yambaru National Park, its designation as a new national...

Japan wins bronze medal in Wheelchair Rugby in Rio thanks to Nakazato, Norimatsu and other players’ good showing

Japan wins bronze medal in Wheelchair Rugby in Rio thanks to Nakazato, Norimatsu and other players' good showing

September 18, Ryukyu Shimpo

Masatoshi Inafuku reports from Rio de Janeiro

On the morning of September 18, (the afternoon of the same day in Japan), the last day of competition in the Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games, Japan won the bronze medal with a 52-50 win to Canada in the third place...