December 8, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo
Civilians and bereaved families who were victims in the Battle of Okinawa have sued the government, seeking an apology and damages of 11 million yen per person. This group lawsuit is referred to as the Nuchi-do-Takara court-case, which in the Okinawan dialect means, “life is a treasure.” On December 7, 16 plaintiffs in this second lawsuit lodged an appeal to the Naha District Court. They are seeking to force the government to pay damages of 176 million...
March 27, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo
On March 26, the Okinawa Municipal Historiographic Office held a memorial service for the children who died between 1945 and 1949 in the Koza Orphanage, which was located in what is now the Sumiyoshi area. Twenty-two people who lost their parents and spent their...
March 4, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo
At 12:00pm on March 4, in the grounds of the Shuri High School, Naha, a Self-Defense Force bomb disposal team disposed of an unexploded WWII U.S. Navy 8-Inch shell (about 118 kilogram, 90 centimeters long and 20 centimeters in diameter). Last November, workers found...
March 1, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo
On March 5, former Governor of Okinawa and member of the House of Councilors Masahide Ota opened an exhibition hall of the Battle of Okinawa in the Ota Peace Research Institute in Naha. Through the years, the 86 year-old pacifist scholar and prominent politician...
January 30, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo
On January 29, a concert using a piano that was damaged by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima was held at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum in Itoman. Michihiko Ota, who lives mainly in Okinawa and the Kanto region, and several other musicians performed....
December 15, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo
On December 14 at the prefectural government offices, a war victim group filing a collective lawsuit with the central government for an apology and compensation to civilian casualties in the Battle of Okinawa, made its stance clear on a war victim assistance...
November 23, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo
A committee of five experts set up by the Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG) and chaired by Professor Yoshifumi Ikeda of the University of the Ryukyus, held its second meeting on November 22 in which they drafted a description to be used on an explanation board...
November 6, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo
On November 5, at the Mawashi branch of JA-Okinawa in Naha, a public lecture entitled “Following mental trauma from the Battle of Okinawa” was held by the Society for Research on Mental Health in the Battle of Okinawa. Ryoji Aritsuka, a doctor of psychosomatic...
October 25, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo
By October 24, a worker carrying out a magnetic survey in farmland in Kuniyoshi Ward in Itoman City as part of the nation’s broad-scale excavation project had found approximately 100 items of unexploded ordnance thought to be from the former Imperial Japanese...
October 5, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo
Mark Ealey, a 54 year-old translator and researcher who resides in Christchurch, New Zealand, arrived in Okinawa on September 30 on the Japan Foundation’s Research Fellowship Program. He is translating the series of articles published under the title of Senka...
August 26, 2011 Yukiyo Zaha of Ryukyu Shimpo
On August 21, in conjunction with the Urasoe Board of Education, the Urasoe City Guides (headed by Hiromasa Awamori), a nonprofit organization that runs tours of the historical sites and cultural assets of Urasoe City, carried out a tour around Urasoe...
