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Big catch of banana fish

Big catch of banana fish

May 23 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

On May 22 at the Toya fishing port in Yomitan, there was a large catch of banana fish, known locally as gurukun, the prefectural fish of Okinawa. This catch is said to signal the arrival of summer. The total weight of the catch amounted to three tons, the largest ever to date. People involved in the fishing industry said, “It was a real surprise to catch such a huge amount of fish.”

The banana fish, which have a characteristic yellow...

 

American activist refers to Okinawa’s reversion to Japanese sovereignty with U.S. military presence intact as “fraud”

American activist refers to Okinawa's reversion to Japanese sovereignty with U.S. military presence intact as “fraud”

May 15, 2012 Chota Takamine, Correspondent of the Ryukyu Shimpo

On May 15, 1972, the day of Okinawa’s reversion to Japanese sovereignty, an American woman delivered a speech with a U.S. Army sergeant at a protest rally held by the Okinawa Reversion to the Fatherland Council at Yogi Park...

Ninety percent of people in Okinawa oppose Henoko relocation plan

Ninety percent of people in Okinawa oppose Henoko relocation plan

May 9, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

On May 5 and 6, ahead of May 15, the 40th anniversary of Okinawa’s reversion to Japanese sovereignty, the Ryukyu Shimpo and Mainichi newspapers jointly conducted a telephone opinion poll to ascertain how people in Okinawa and the main islands of Japan view the reversion...

People of Kunigami and Yoron reunited on the sea 43 years after commemorating Okinawa’s reversion to Japan

People of Kunigami and Yoron reunited on the sea 43 years after commemorating Okinawa's reversion to Japan

April 29, 2012 Ryota Nakamura of Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 28, a meeting by people of Kunigami and Yoron took place on the sea at the northern latitude of 27 degrees. This used to be where the border was after the Amami Islands were returned to Japanese sovereignty in 1953. They reenacted the...

Sekitoku Girl’s School students’ Battle of Okinawa experiences screened

Sekitoku Girl’s School students’ Battle of Okinawa experiences screened

April 22, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

On the night of April 22 at the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum in Naha the pre-screening of a short documentary Fuji Gakutotai, directed by Gakuya Nomura, was held. The film records the Battle of Okinawa experiences of Sekitoku Girl’s High...

Timetable of former Okinawa Light Rail found in diary of late songwriter Nakamoto

Timetable of former Okinawa Light Rail found in diary of late songwriter Nakamoto

April 21, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

A timetable published by the Okinawa Prefecture Light Rail Office in 1943 was found in Gushichan, Yaese. Kaoru Nakamoto found the timetable inside his late father Minoru Nakamoto’s diary when he was cleaning up his father’s belongings. In the diary, there was...

Okinawan restaurant in Orange County

Okinawan restaurant in Orange County

April 23, 2012 Sadao Tome, Correspondent of the Ryukyu Shimpo

In December 2010, Mayumi Tomita Vargas, who is originally from Yonabaru, opened an Okinawan restaurant named Habuya in Orange County, California. She said, “My dream has finally come true after coming to the United States back...

Disposal of unexploded ordnance at Shuri High School forces more than 2000 people to evacuate

Disposal of unexploded ordnance at Shuri High School forces more than 2000 people to evacuate

April 16, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

Just before 11:00am on April 15 in the grounds of Shuri High School in the Mawashi area of Shuri, Naha, Ground Self-Defense Force personnel disposed of an unexploded WWII U.S. 250 kilogram shell (120 centimeters long and 36 centimeters in diameter). The shell had...

History book on human rights in Okinawa published

History book on human rights in Okinawa published

April 9, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

To mark the 50th anniversary of its establishment, the Okinawa Human Rights Association, which was established when Okinawa was under U.S. military administration and has since been involved in the protection of human rights for the people of Okinawa, has published...

U.S. military aircraft noise halts enrollment ceremonies at elementary schools

U.S. military aircraft noise halts enrollment ceremonies at elementary schools

April 11, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

In the morning on April 10, a number of Boeing F/A-18 Hornet aircraft, the type that crashed in Virginia on April 6, flew to U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan. Among the 12 aircraft that flew to the base, four are based at Iwakuni Air Station (Iwakuni,...

151 photographs of Okinawa soon after World War II

151 photographs of Okinawa soon after World War II

April 9, 2012 Tomoya Kohatsu of the Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 8, the Ryukyu America Historical Research Society acquired 151 photographs of scenes in Okinawa during the period from directly after World War II to the 1960s. The collection includes photographs of people and scenery all over Okinawa...