Archive for February, 2019

Recent News

Okinawa takes the top vacation destination for this year’s 10-day Golden Week, reservations coming in earlier than previous years

Okinawa takes the top vacation destination for this year’s 10-day Golden Week, reservations coming in earlier than previous years

February 13, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

Travel giant H.I.S. announced their domestic travel reservation rankings for the 10-day-long 2019 Golden Week February 12.

“Okinawa Island” took the top spot, with “the Okinawa Archipelago,” which includes islands such as Miyako and Ishigaki, coming in fifth. Since H.I.S. began conducting the survey, Okinawa has stayed firm in the top spot, leading the company to dub it a “rock-solid #1.

” Vacations ranging from four...

 

Brilliant rainbow appears in Iriomote Island, “feels like a good omen”

Brilliant rainbow appears in Iriomote Island, “feels like a good omen”

February 10, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

 

(Iriomote Island, Taketomi) Around 4:00 p.m. on February 9, a rainbow exhibiting all seven colors distinctly appeared in Iriomote Island of Taketomi Town.

Residents and tourists gasped at the rainbow, which rose clearly all...

Okinawa Prefectural Assembly member travel to Germany and Italy, find major and “unsettling” differences in the nature of U.S. forces stationed in each country

Okinawa Prefectural Assembly member travel to Germany and Italy, find major and “unsettling” differences in the nature of U.S. forces stationed in each country

February 10, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Akihito Yamaguchi

 

Okinawa Prefectural Assembly General Coordination and Policy Planning Committee (Osamu Toguchi, chair) members visited Germany and Italy, who were defeated in World War 2 fighting on the same side as Japan, and met with...

Nakandakari Ward holds ceremony to transplant young rice plants and pray for good harvest

Nakandakari Ward holds ceremony to transplant young rice plants and pray for good harvest

February 15, 2018 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

On February 14, Nakandakari Ward’s traditional event “Ueda Ugan” took place at Ukinjyu Hainjyu. Ukinjyu Hainjyu, located in Hyakuna of Tamagusuku Village in Nanjo City, Okinawa Prefecture, is said to be the birthplace...

The devil’s mask that protects Wabiai no Sato

The devil’s mask that protects Wabiai no Sato

February 4, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Shouhei Tsukazaki

The Wabiai no Sato in Higashiemae of Ie Village in Okinawa Prefecture works to pass on the history of Ie Island and the footsteps of late peace activist Shoukou Ahagon. Above the gate to the Wabiai no Sato is a devil’s mask, which...

Expert claims no previous reinforcement of soft ground 90 meters below sea level, the depth found in Henoko construction area

Expert claims no previous reinforcement of soft ground 90 meters below sea level, the depth found in Henoko construction area

February 7, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo

On February 6, it came to the Ryukyu Shimpo’s attention that the thickest layer of soft ground at the construction site for the Futenma Replacement Facility (FRF) in Oura Bay reaches a depth of about 90 meters below sea level. This strip requires large-scale...

Foreign Laborers in Okinawa totals 8,138 at the end of October, 2018, highest ever figure for both people and businesses

Foreign Laborers in Okinawa totals 8,138 at the end of October, 2018, highest ever figure for both people and businesses

February 8, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo

The Okinawa Labor Bureau (Takafumi Adachi, bureau chief) announced February 7 that the number of foreign laborers in Okinawa as of the end of October, 2018 increased by 828 people year-over-year (an 11.3% increase) to a total of 8,138 people. The number of businesses...

PM Abe’s policy speech emphasizes Henoko relocation, fails to mention closely attending to Okinawans’ feelings

January 29, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo

In a policy speech at the National Diet on January 28, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe once again stated his intention to move forward with the relocation of Futenma Air Station to Henoko, Nago City. He said, “After more than twenty years of discussions with Okinawa’s...

Okinawa fails to surpass Hawaii in terms of 2018 tourist numbers and increase rate

Okinawa fails to surpass Hawaii in terms of 2018 tourist numbers and increase rate

February 3, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo

The U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in competition with Okinawa over incoming tourist numbers, had a preliminary estimate of 9,954,548 tourists in the 2018 calendar year, roughly 112,100 more than Okinawa, which had 984,2400 tourists visiting during the same period.

Okinawa...

Mysterious symbols found engraved in stones in newly discovered castle wall at Nakagusuku Castle Ruins

Mysterious symbols found engraved in stones in newly discovered castle wall at Nakagusuku Castle Ruins

February 3, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Kazuya Arakaki

[Nakagusuku] The Nakagusuku Board of Education (BoE) disclosed on February 2 that during their survey of the newly discovered castle wall at Nakagusuku Castle Ruins, the discovered symbols such as letters that resemble an “F” and an...

Central government considers Henoko seafloor reinforcement method using 60,000 sand pillars

Central government considers Henoko seafloor reinforcement method using 60,000 sand pillars

February 1, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo

On January 31, it came to light that the Japanese government is considering using approximately 60,000 sand pillars at a depth 70 meters under the water of Oura Bay as the soil improvement method on a 57-hectare area of soft seafloor in the land reclamation area...