Archive for March, 2017

Recent News

Resort weddings at record high for five consecutive years, with 15,000 couples last year

March 24, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

On March 23, the Okinawa Prefecture Culture, Tourism and Sports Division announced that 15,399 couples had Okinawa resort weddings in 2016, a rise of 8.6 percent from the same period last year and the highest number in five consecutive years. The number of couples from Japan was 13,532, which was a 6.4 percent increase on the same period last year. The number of couples from overseas, which was 1,867, increased by 28.1 percent. Approximately 237,000 tourists...

 

Okinawa governor may file suit if coral reef fracturing occurs without permission after April

Okinawa governor may file suit if coral reef fracturing occurs without permission after April

March 16, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga made comment on the permit for fracturing reef rock as part of base construction in Henoko on the morning of March 16. The permit for fracturing the reef will expire at the end of March, and the Okinawa Defense Bureau has informed...

72 years after the US military landed on Zamami Island, villagers honour victims of “Group self-determination” and vow never to repeat war

72 years after the US military landed on Zamami Island, villagers honour victims of

March 27, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

On March 26, 2017, 72 years after the “group self-determination” (compulsory group suicides) took place on Zamami Island during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, villagers visited the Heiwa-no-To peace memorial and joined their hands in prayer.
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Cheers for cute white lion cub at Okinawa Zoo

Cheers for cute white lion cub at Okinawa Zoo

March 27, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

On March 26, at the Okinawa Zoo and Museum in Goya, Okinawa City, a welcome ceremony for a male white lion cub from the Tohoku Safari Park in Fukushima was held.

White lions are rare and can only be seen in eight zoos in the country. Many parents and children...

Mao Ishiakwa Publishes Photobook in the United States

Mao Ishiakwa Publishes Photobook in the United States

March 23, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Noriko Oshiro

Mao Ishikawa, a photographer who focuses on taking pictures of Okinawa and the people who live there, will be attending four in New York City from March 28 through April 2, including a publication signing event for her new photography book,...

Churaumi Aquarium hosts world-first tiger shark birth from captive breeding

Churaumi Aquarium hosts world-first tiger shark birth from captive breeding

March 24, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

Roughly between noon and 4 p.m. on March 23, a tiger shark gave birth in a shark display tank at Churaumi Aquarium in Motobu Town. Tiger sharks live in ranges from the tropics to temperate zones, and this is the first time a tiger shark has given birth from breeding...

Tourism to reach 8.4 million, guaranteeing Okinawa will reach its goal for fiscal year 2016

March 23, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

On March 22, Okinawa prefecture’s Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports published its numbers regarding inbound tourism between April 2016 and February 2017. Compared to the same timeframe from the year before, 7,990,700 more people visited Okinawa, which...

More than 3,500 protest new base in Henoko, governor announces intention to revoke land reclamation approval

More than 3,500 protest new base in Henoko, governor announces intention to revoke land reclamation approval

March 25, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo Digital Edition

On March 25, the “prefectural people’s rally calling for immediate cancellation of unlawful land reclamation work and abandonment of the plan to build a new base in Henoko”, organized by the All Okinawa Coalition to Prevent Construction of...

European couple visits Okinawa during round-the-world trip on tandem bicycle

European couple visits Okinawa during round-the-world trip on tandem bicycle

March 21, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Chie Tome

On March 17, a couple attempting a round-the-world trip, Frenchman Florent Asquinazi and Belgian woman Florence Nee, began their tour of Okinawa’s main island. They are starting out on their 320-kilometer excursion in Naha City, heading north...

Tsushima Maru Memorial Unveiled in Uken

Tsushima Maru Memorial Unveiled in Uken

March 20, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

Midori Iwasaki reporting from Amami Oshima

The monument commemorating the evacuation boat “Tsushima Maru,” which was sunk by a torpedo attack from an American submarine in August, 1944, had its unveiling ceremony March 19 at Funoshi beach in Uken, on...

US military conducts parachute drop training ignoring local objections

US military conducts parachute drop training ignoring local objections

March 3, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

On March 16 shortly after 5 p.m., the U.S. Air Force conducted parachute drop training over the water at Tsuken Island Training Area in Uruma City. Okinawa Prefecture and Uruma City have repeatedly requested the cancellation of parachute drop training over the water....