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Internationally acclaimed anime director Hayao Miyazaki to build facility for children in Kumejima

Internationally acclaimed anime director Hayao Miyazaki to build facility for children in Kumejima

June 25, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo

Internationally acclaimed anime director Hayao Miyazaki is planning to build a community facility for children in Zenda Forest Park of Kumejima. Miyazaki will invest 300 million yen into construction of the facility as a donation to the town. Kumejima Town will provide about 10,000 square meters of land to be part of a park included in the facility. It will be designed in a way that utilizes rocks and trees in the natural environment to create a space where children...

 

Governor Onaga’s Peace Declaration (Full Text)

Governor Onaga’s Peace Declaration (Full Text)

June 23, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo

June 23 has come for the 70th time.

One of the most ferocious land battles in history occurred in our homeland of Okinawa. More than 200,000 precious lives were sacrificed. We will never be able to forget the sadness of losing our loved ones; our family and...

Naha becomes second city to declare support for LGBTs

June 19, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo 

Naha will become the second administrative region in Japan to declare support for sexual minorities, also known as LGBT, following Yodogawa District in Osaka. Naha city will make a “City LGBT Support Declaration” on July 19. With the declaration, Naha...

Two historical papers reveal divide and conquer strategies by Meiji Government after Ryukyu Kingdom annexation

Two historical papers reveal divide and conquer strategies by Meiji Government after Ryukyu Kingdom annexation

June 11, 2015 Tsuyoshi Arakaki of Ryukyu Shimpo

On June 10, two Meiji Government documents regarding “the Ryukyu Disposal,” an annexation of the Ryukyu Kingdom by Japan in 1879, were found. One of the documents revealed three strategies used to deal with strong resistance by the...

Japanese government ordered to pay 754 million yen compensation for Futenma noise pollution

Japanese government ordered to pay 754 million yen compensation for Futenma noise pollution

June 12, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo

On June 11, in a lawsuit filed against the Japanese government by 2,178 citizens living near Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, the Naha District Court Okinawa Branch (Chief Justice: Tetsuya Fujikura) ordered the government to pay a total of approximately 754 million...

Hawaiian high school students visit to learn about Okinawa

Hawaiian high school students visit to learn about Okinawa

June 11, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo

Fifteen Okinawan Hawaiian high school students met Mitsuo Ageda, Okinawa’s vice-governor and Akira Moromizato, the head of the boards of education, at Okinawa Prefecture Office on June 11. They visited Okinawa on June 6 and are scheduled to stay here for two weeks...

Okinawan Hawaiian youth sets up new group to support HUOA

Okinawan Hawaiian youth sets up new group to support HUOA

June 7, 2015 Hanae Higa Gushiken, Correspondent of Ryukyu Shimpo

In order to promote activities of the Hawaii United Okinawa Association (HUOA), young Okinawan Hawaiians in their 20s’ to 30s’ have set up a new group called “Shinka.” The group has become the 50th member...

Opinion poll: 95% want experiences of the Battle of Okinawa handed down

June 3, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo

The Ryukyu Shimpo and the Okinawa Television Broadcasting (OTV) carried out a telephone poll on May 30 and 31 ahead of the upcoming memorial for the 70th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa.

In the survey, 94.8 percent of respondents said they wanted...

Donations to Henoko Fund top 300 million yen

June 5, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo

Donations to the Henoko Fund, which is aimed at supporting activities to prevent the relocation of U.S. Marine Corp Air Station Futenma to Henoko in northern Okinawa Prefecture, have exceeded 300 million yen, the secretariat of the fund said on May 4.

As of...

Saipan memorial participants renew pledge not to wage war ever again

Saipan memorial participants renew pledge not to wage war ever again

May 26, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo

On May 25, the 46th Nanyo Gunto Okinawa Memorial Ceremony was held at the Tower of Okinawa in Saipan. The ceremony was held to console the souls of the war dead, who died during the battle near the end of the Asia-Pacific War in 1944. About 140 people, including returnees...

War memories must be preserved; pledge made at Memorial Ceremony in Tinian

War memories must be preserved; pledge made at Memorial Ceremony in Tinian

May 27, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo
On May 26, the 38th Tinian Memorial Ceremony for War Victims of Okinawan Descent was held at the “Okinawa Tower” located on the Carolinas Plateau in Tinian, in the Northern Mariana Islands. Around 80 people attended the memorial ceremony, their families, and local...