Archive for July, 2021

Recent News

Sea urchins found to grow rapidly when raised with Shimaguwa leaves, and the Urasoe Ginowan Fishery Cooperative is looking to capitalize

Sea urchins found to grow rapidly when raised with Shimaguwa leaves, and the Urasoe Ginowan Fishery Cooperative is looking to capitalize

July 13 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

Urasoe – A special project to raise sea urchins on land using leaves from the shimaguwa, an island mulberry tree specially raised in the city, is underway at Makiminato Fishing Port in Urasoe. On July 5, some of these were opened as a test, and there were some gonads harvested that weighed over 25 grams. Those involved in the raising of the sea urchins including people from the Urasoe Ginowan Fishery Cooperative and from Urasoe and Ginowan cities...

 

On Tanabata night, sparkling Milky Way observable by naked eye in Okinawa

On Tanabata night, sparkling Milky Way observable by naked eye in Okinawa

July 8, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

July 7 was Tanabata, or the Star Festival. This year, a high-pressure system hung over the Okinawa region, allowing observers to see the Milky Way spread out in the evening sky like a sparkling ribbon.

 

According to a myth cherished...

OPG loses Henoko coral lawsuit with two of five judges holding a dissenting opinion

OPG loses Henoko coral lawsuit with two of five judges holding a dissenting opinion

July 7, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

On July 6 the Third Petty Bench of the Supreme Court (Presiding Judge Michiharu Hayashi) dismissed the final appeal of the Henoko coral lawsuit filed by the Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG). The lawsuit was in response to the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry...

Naha District Court accepts 12 base employees’ claims of baseless punishment and unjust treatment

Naha District Court accepts 12 base employees’ claims of baseless punishment and unjust treatment

July 8, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

On July 7, the Naha District Court announced their decision in the case brought by 12 Japanese staff working on U.S. military bases who claimed they had received undue punishment, including suspension, without factual basis. The plaintiffs sought confirmation...

Unexploded ordinance found in a construction site next to civilian house in Naha

Unexploded ordinance found in a construction site next to civilian house in Naha

July 9, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

At around 1:00 p.m. on July 8, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) alerted Naha city that “Unexploded ordinance has been found” at a construction site next to a residential building in Hantagawa.  The ordinance was a five-inch-long U.S....

School trips to Okinawa decrease in 2021 by 34% compared to pre-COVID levels, down to 1,567 schools

School trips to Okinawa decrease in 2021 by 34% compared to pre-COVID levels, down to 1,567 schools

July 6, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Yuki Nakamura

 

In 2021, Okinawa again saw a trend of schools postponing or changing the destination of their school trips.

According to the Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau (OCVB), the number of schools planning to travel to Okinawa...

Long rainy season ends in Okinawa

Long rainy season ends in Okinawa

July 2, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

On July 2, the Okinawa Meteorological Agency announced that rainy season is ending in Okinawa. The end this year comes 11 days later than an average year (June 21), and 20 days later than last year (June 12). The start of rainy season was May 5 this...

Memorial held for 18 children killed in US military plane crash at Miyamori Elementary School 62 years ago

Memorial held for 18 children killed in US military plane crash at Miyamori Elementary School 62 years ago

June 30, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

Uruma City, Okinawa—62 years ago on June 30, a U.S. military jet crashed into a residential area and the Miyamori Elementary School in Ishikawa, Uruma City (former Ishikawa City), killing 18 children. On its anniversary, the Miyamori Elementary School...

Seibu Lions’ Taira records 39th-straight shutout appearance, breaks 15-year-old NPB record

Seibu Lions’ Taira records 39th-straight shutout appearance, breaks 15-year-old NPB record

July 1, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

Seibu Lions pitcher Kaima Taira (21, Yaeyama Commercial and Technical High School), pitched his 39th consecutive shutout appearance July 1 against the SoftBank Hawks in their 15th matchup of the season at the Fukuoka PayPay Dome, breaking a 15-year-old...

Three species that inhabit Okinawa are granted Urgent Endangered Species Designation

Three species that inhabit Okinawa are granted Urgent Endangered Species Designation

June 30, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

Based on the Act on the Conservation of Endangered Species, the Ministry of the Environment has granted Urgent Endangered Species Designation, for a period of three years starting on July 1, to a total of three newly-discovered species including a centipede...

In Yomitan, Han no Hi Association holds memorial for Koreans to remember the history of forced mobilization

In Yomitan, Han no Hi Association holds memorial for Koreans to remember the history of forced mobilization

June 20, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

(Yomitan) On June 19, the NPO Okinawa Han no Hi Association held a memorial at the “Han no Hi” monument in Senaha, Yomitan in honor of the “comfort women” and others forced to serve the military in various capacities who the Japanese military...