January 24, 2022 Ryukyu Shimpo
Incumbent Taketoyo Toguchi has won reelection in the Nago mayoral race, in which the relocation of MCAS Futenma to the Henoko area of Nago became a major battleground issue.
This mayoral election was the first since the confirmation of soft ground at the bottom of Oura Bay. Also, as the first mayoral election since the prefectural referendum in 2019, where 70% of voters opposed land reclamation in Henoko, the race had gained attention...
November 1, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
Public opinion surrounding the new base construction in Henoko, Nago – part of the relocation of MCAS Futenma – is wavering. The winning candidates in the 1st and 2nd Okinawa districts for the lower house are from the “All Okinawa” party,...
March 16 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
We must take full advantage of this letter. The Overseas Base Realignment and Closure Coalition, a group of U.S. intellectuals, former officials, and others, published a letter addressed to President Biden calling for closure of U.S. military bases...
January 25, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
A secret 2015 agreement reached between the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) and the U.S. Marine Corps has come to light. The deal agrees to station the JGSDF’s remote island defense unit, the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB),...
January 1, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
A new year is upon us. The year 2021 will be the time for Okinawa to decide its future direction, as the 50th anniversary of Okinawa’s reversion to Japanese rule is nearing.
Fifty years ago, in November 1971, the Ryukyu government drew...
October 27, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga gave his first policy speech at the Diet since taking office. Regarding Okinawa, he stated that he will “endeavor to reduce the base burden” and “steadfastly proceed with the construction for the Henoko relocation in order to...
August 29, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced his resignation. He was prime minister for seven years and eight months, since the inauguration of his second administration in December 2012. As his health worsened, he determined that it would be difficult to continue at...
August 21, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
During a mass outbreak of the novel coronavirus occurred on the U.S. Navy’s USS Theodore Roosevelt en route, the U.S. military considered a plan to transport about 3,000 crewmembers to U.S. military bases in Okinawa. The crew eventually disembarked in Guam, but...
August 14, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
August 13, 2020, marks 16 years from the day a CH-53D heavy-lift transport helicopter departed U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, crashed at Okinawa International University and burst into flames.
MCAS Futenma’s airfield continues to occupy the city’s...
August 11, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
A meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party National Defense Parliamentary Group saw many participants put forth the idea that the Self-Defense Forces should be allowed to use Shimojishima Airport in Miyakojima City for the purpose of strengthening defense of the...
July 24, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
According to the latest National Lifestyle Survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the childhood poverty rate in Japan is at 13.5%, meaning one in seven children live in poverty. The result indicates no improvement was made since the previous...
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