April 19, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Chie Tome
“If you harass a mermaid you will be cursed.” The dugong was a model for the legends of mermaids and is a designated for special protection in Japan. There is much folklore about the dugong in Okinawa, and in every tale it is said that harming a dugong will invite misfortune. In Oura Bay in Nago, where traces of dugong feeding have been confirmed, there are plans to begin construction on land reclamation work in conjunction with the construction...
March 29, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo
On March 28 at Shiratama no To, Tokashiki Village hosted a memorial service for those who died in the “group self-determination” (compulsory mass suicide) 72 years prior on March 28, 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa. Bereaved family members and concerned persons...
March 21, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Chie Tome
On March 17, a couple attempting a round-the-world trip, Frenchman Florent Asquinazi and Belgian woman Florence Nee, began their tour of Okinawa’s main island. They are starting out on their 320-kilometer excursion in Naha City, heading north...
February 26, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo
The Fourth Yambaru Higashi Village Adventure Rally was held at Tsutsuji Park in Higashi Villager’s Forest. Three hundred and nineteen people from Okinawa and elsewhere took part in activities including kayaking, mountain biking, and trekking in the mountains...
February 22, 2017 Yoko Tabuki of Ryukyu Shimpo
February 22 is “Cat Day” in Japan. Naha City is home to “Community cats,” which are fed in Machiguwa or local shopping areas and streets. The city government plans to implement Trap Neuter Release/Return (TNR) of stray cats...
January 8, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo
Fourth-generation Okinawan Shirley Higa from Hawaii recently met with her relative Shigeo Asato who lives in Kishaba, Kitanakagusuku Village. Shirley’s only clue in her search for family was the passport of her first-generation great-grandfather, Masae Higa....
December 5, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Ayako Sakaguchi
(Iejima) “Henoko, Takae, and Iejima—the three are all one. Anger and frustration continue every day. Even after the passage of 71 years, we are still at war.” On November 22, Etsuko Jahana, 78, director of the Iejima Anti-war...
November 3, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo
A black variety of Japan’s largest butterfly, the rice paper butterfly, has been discovered. The black specimen emerged from a chrysalis being observed by a member of the Fly Butterflies Around Shurijo Castle Association. Even though a black specimen generally...
October 10, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo
The 46th Naha Tug of War was held at the Kumoji intersection of Route 58 in Naha on October 9. According to the organizer, about 270,000 people took part in the event.
The crowd pulled on the rope for 30 minutes, with the West side winning the competitive...
October 2, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo
[Motobu]
The male bottlenose dolphin, Sun, celebrated his first birthday on September 26 at Motobu Genki Village in Motohama, Motobu. He celebrated with the class of two- to four-year-olds from Hikari Preschool, who sang “Happy Birthday” and fed the dolphin...
September 20, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo
At the Sakitari cave (survey site 1) in Nanjo, Okinawa where the world’s oldest fishhooks were unearthed, other artifacts including roughly 10,000 Japanese mitten crab claws were also found. The Japanese mitten crab is related to the Chinese mitten crab, which...
Webcam(Kokusai Street)