Satoko Oka Norimatsu
As we approach the 75th anniversary year of the end of World War II and the Asia-Pacific War, I would like to write about the war experience of two Canadian men who died this year.
One is Marius van Dijk van Nooten, who died on August 23 at age 88 in White Rock, BC.
I met him at an annual peace education symposium for high school students, about a decade ago.
Marius was born in 1930 in the Netherlands and spent his early years in Bandung, in...
Satoko Oka Norimatsu, Editor, The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus
This summer, I went to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or in Japanese, Chosen Minshushugi Jinmin Kyowakoku (in short, “Chosen”), with three of my girlfriends.
Western media propagates this country...
Satoko Oka Norimatsu, Editor, The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus
I am writing this in Hiroshima on August 6, on the 74th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city.
For the last 13 years, I have participated in an annual peace study tour for U.S. and Japanese university students...
Satoko Oka Norimatsu, Editor, The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus
BTS (Bangtan Boys) is a seven-member hip-hop boys’ group that debuted in South Korea in 2013. Over the past two years, these top K-pop stars propelled themselves to worldwide stardom rapidly with their superb...
January 1, 2014 Ryukyu Shimpo
If I am asked, “What’s your favorite drink?” without hesitation I will answer “awamori.” A cold beer after a bath is also hard to resist, but a glass of cold water the morning after drinking a little too much tastes every bit as good.
In...
July 28, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo
Peru is in Okinawa City – you may think that sounds a little strange, but Okinawa City is an international cultural tourism town providing a home to people from over 40 countries and mixing all sorts of cultures together. The huge U.S. military bases are not...
February 6, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo
Just half a day after the Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper reported the story about the Okinawa Defense Bureau official’s injudicious remark regarding the submission of the Henoko environmental impact report, national papers and news service agencies delivered the story...
January 12, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo
In the evening of January 7, a night rainbow was observed at the Ishigakijima Astronomical Observatory. A night rainbow is said to be a phenomenon that invites happiness. It was visible in the western sky looking from the Observatory, which is located at the summit...
May 13, 2011 by Michiyo Yonamine of Ryukyu Shimpo
Three U.S. senators, including Carl Levin, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, have called for the Pentagon to abandon plans to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma facilities to the Henoko district of Nago, rejecting...
March 31, 2011. Ryukyu Shimpo
According to Kahoku Shimpo, a local newspaper in Miyagi Prefecture, false rumors are being spread through the areas stricken by Great East Japan Earthquake. The rumors are to the effect that, “Chinese are stealing relief supplies,” “Sex crimes are occurring...
March 12, 2011, Ryukyu Shimpo
Former Governor of Okinawa Masahide Ota discusses what may lie behind the disparaging remarks about Okinawa made by Kevin Maher, who was subsequently removed from his position as Director of the Office of Japanese Affairs in the US State Department.
On my...
Webcam(Kokusai Street)