Archive for the Society Category
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August 18, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
In an effort to stop the poaching of plants and animals such as the Yanbaru long-armed scarab beetle, a Japanese protected species that lives only in Yanbaru, in the northern part of Okinawa’s main island, the Okinawa Environmental Protection Agency will close trails in Kunigami at night from August 26 through October 21, as a test to gauge the efficacy of such a policy.
The agency stated, “We do not want the precious plants and animals from Yanbaru...
August 12, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
(Ginowan) August 13 marks 15 years since the day a U.S. military helicopter crashed over Okinawa International University, and on August 11, in advance of the date, Shimagurumi Kaigi Ginowan and the Futenma Noise Lawsuit Group held a protest outside Ginowan City...
August 6, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
On August 5, the Nansei Shoto Industrial Advancement Center (NIAC, headed by Mitsuru Omine) published a report analyzing trends in resident foreigners in Okinawa.
From July 2018 to July 2019, Okinawa’s total population (prefectural estimate) rose by 6,153,...
August 1, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
Reiner Braun, Co-President of the International Peace Bureau (IPB), a Berlin-based pacifist organization advocating disarmament, held a joint symposium on July 31 with the All-Okinawa Coalition, which comprises political parties and organizations that oppose the...
July 28, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
On July 27, a group called “Association for Returning Remains in Kenken, Motobu to their Homeland” was established with the aim of collecting the remains of fourteen people, including Koreans mobilized during the Battle of Okinawa, that were found in Kenken,...
July 29, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
The Ministry of the Environment (MoE), Okinawa Prefecture, and Nakijin Village announced July 29 that after conducting an autopsy, a dugong which was found dead in Untengyo Bay in Nakijin in March of this year and is a protected species in Japan was ruled to have...
July 26, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
Veterans for Peace—Ryukyu Okinawa Chapter Kokusai (VFP-ROCK) President Douglas Lummis and members held a press conference at Okinawa’s prefectural press club on July 25. The group announced VFP-ROCK’s intentions to submit a new resolution for approval at the...
July 24, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) began putting 100-yen coins with a Karate design into circulation July 24.
The new coin was minted to commemorate the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, and is joined by six other commemorative designs featuring events such...
July 14, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Hiroe Nakagawa
After fleeing his native Vietnam, Masakazu Minami 50, (Vietnamese name: John Tai Tuan Vin), was rescued off the coast of Ho Chi Minh City by Okinawa Suisan (fishery) High School’s training vessel, the Shonan-maru. It was August 8, 1983....
July 16, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
Hiroki Ohashi
Okinawa’s finger-whistling music can be heard cheering on the teams at high school baseball games and at Eisa performances. On July 7, Finger-Whistling Day, a “Summer Vacation Finger-Whistling Concert 2019” was held at the JICA Okinawa...
July 9, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
In June, a plan by the NPO Ichiman-nin Idobata Kaigi, which runs the Hantagawa Community Center in Naha, Okinawa, to build community centers in Egypt was adopted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as a “project for promoting...