Archive for March, 2020

Recent News

Basic Repairs on the Dragon Pillars which Remained Standing After the Fire at Shuri Castle

Basic Repairs on the Dragon Pillars which Remained Standing After the Fire at Shuri Castle

February 28, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

On February 27, in Shurijo Castle Park, Naha, Okinawa, basic repairs began on the Giant Dragon Pillars that were damaged in the Shuri Castle Fire. The fire destroyed parts of the castle, including the main hall, last October.
 
According to the Okinawa General Bureau, the pillars will be protected in their current location until Golden Week in May, when the site of the fire will be opened to the public.

After that, the pillars will be...

 

Chatan town to buy returned U.S. military base land contaminated with dioxins from landowner

Chatan town to buy returned U.S. military base land contaminated with dioxins from landowner

March 2, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Manato Akira, Wakana Arakaki, and Mikako Shimoji

Waste containing high concentrations of dioxins was found at a returned U.S. military base site in Kamiseido, Chatan Town in Okinawa Prefecture, which had been designated for the construction of a residence....

Defense Bureau says Henoko landfill will proceed amid coronavirus precautions

Defense Bureau says Henoko landfill will proceed amid coronavirus precautions

March 3, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

The Okinawa Defense Bureau stated on March 2 that the land reclamation work to add a new U.S. military base in Henoko, Nago City, will not be suspended as part of the ongoing efforts to control the spread of the new coronavirus strain, COVID-19.

The bureau...

Ginowan brand Binryu exhibits bingata wallpaper collection in France

Ginowan brand Binryu exhibits bingata wallpaper collection in France

March 1, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
Yoko Oshiro reports

Starting on January 17, Europe’s largest home décor fair, Maison et Objet, was held for five days at the Villepinte Exhibition Center in the suburbs of Paris. The wallpaper collection from Binryu, the original brand of Araya Planning,...

New Japanese-Filipino movie about an amputee boxer is being filmed in Okinawa

New Japanese-Filipino movie about an amputee boxer is being filmed in Okinawa

March 1, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

A Japanese-Filipino joint production film, The Amputee Boxer (title TBD), is currently being filmed in Okinawa. The movie is a human drama based on the true-life story of Naozumi Tsuchiyama, 37. Tsuchiyama, who hails from Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, built his boxing...

Miyakojima Triathlon cancelled due to concerns over coronavirus

Miyakojima Triathlon cancelled due to concerns over coronavirus

March 2, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

Miyakojima – The “36th All Japan Triathlon Miyakojima” (Hosted by Miyakojima City and the Ryukyu Shimpo Co. Ltd.) scheduled for April 19 was cancelled by the event’s executive committee at a special meeting held at the JTA Dome Miyakojima March 2, due to...

Surveillance footage of Shuri Castle Fire reveals 18-minute gap

Surveillance footage of Shuri Castle Fire reveals 18-minute gap

February 27, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

On February 26, the Okinawa General Bureau released surveillance footage of the Shuri Castle fire, captured on four security cameras positioned inside and outside the Seiden Main Hall.

According to the footage, the motion sensors detected smoke and alerted...

Invited by the Sunlight A Pair of Okinawa Rails Getting Along in Aha, Kunigami

Invited by the Sunlight A Pair of Okinawa Rails Getting Along in Aha, Kunigami

February 23, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

Kunigami – On the morning of February 22, a pair of what appeared to be Okinawa rails (yambaru kuina) were observed engaging in mating behavior on an agricultural road in Aha, Kunigami.

The Okinawa rail is a Natural Monument of Japan. The adorable pair...

The disappearance of foreigners from the streets due to coronavirus continues to assail Okinawa’s economy, with travel agency sales – which rely heavily on Chinese patronage – dropping to almost “zero”

The disappearance of foreigners from the streets due to coronavirus continues to assail Okinawa’s economy, with travel agency sales – which rely heavily on Chinese patronage – dropping to almost “zero”

February 26, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

As the coronavirus (COVID19) continues to spread over the world, including throughout Japan, the prospects for Okinawa meeting their goal of bringing 10 million tourists to Okinawa this year is looking bleak, and the effects are starting to be felt all over Okinawa’s...

Steel object drops from U.S. military helicopter into ocean 1.3 kilometers from Torii Station

Steel object drops from U.S. military helicopter into ocean 1.3 kilometers from Torii Station

February 25, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

At about 1:10 p.m. on February 25, a steel object was dropped from a CH-53E transport helicopter, which is stationed at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, over the ocean 1.3 kilometers west of Torii Station in Yomitan Village.

The object was being...