Sunflower fully blossomed after local kindergarteners planted seeds at a farm in Bise in Motobu town, entertaining visitors.
The contrast of blue sky and yellow flower is very beautiful, as the 65-year-old landowner of the farm, Masataka Gushiken, called for visitors saying, “Please come see the flowers along with the popular garcinia tree road.”
The sunflower farm is located next to Bise Deguchi bus stop. The kindergarteners planted six kilograms of sunflower seeds in the 3,300 square meters of farmland. The best time to view the flowers will last until next week.
Children from the Yui preschool who planted seeds visited the farm in the morning of July 26. Three-year-old Kinsho Miyahara enjoyed the flowers saying, “It’s yellow and beautiful!”
The U.S. military conducted parachute training in the ocean in the Tsuken Island training area the afternoon of July 19. The parachute training marks the fifth training conducted this year. During the three training sessions held that day, a total of sixteen soldiers dropped with parachutes. The training continued until 3:30 p.m.
The first training was confirmed around 12:30 p.m. on July 19, with five soldiers with parachutes falling from a US helicopter to the ocean.
At 1:09 p.m., six more soldiers dropped, and five more soldiers dropped from the helicopter at 2:14 p.m.
Six U.S. soldiers falling with parachutes during the second training done on the same day, at 1:09 p.m.
The prefectural government, city government and the city council previously requested U.S. military to cancel the training in the area due to its high risk.
The training is continued until 5:00 p.m.
An exhibit on the tyrannosaurus sponsored by Ryukyu Shimpo and Okinawa Churashima Foundation opened with over 80 rare fossil remains and a 12-meter-tall full skeleton. The exhibit is named, “Tyrannosaurus Exhibit: The mystery of evolution,” and opens at the Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum in Naha city on July 13. The exhibit is open until September 9.
Ken Kinjo, the assistant director at the Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum, Yoshihiro Hanashiro, the chairman of the Okinawa Churashima Foundation, and Yasutaka Hanashiro, the president of Ryukyu Shimpo, cut the tape at the opening ceremony held on July 12. The hosting group invited sixty-three preschool children from Uchima Midori Preschool and Nanairo Kids Preschool. The children were excited to see the full body-sized bone structure of the tyrannosaurus.
Five-year-old Hana Sunagawa and Yuto Hirai visited the touch-exhibit where visitors may touch and feel fossil remains and meteoric stones. They had stars in their eyes, commenting, “The meteoric stone was heavy and its color was like chocolate,” and, “The fossil remains were really hard. It was interesting.”
The exhibit is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Fridays and Saturdays, the exhibit closes at 8 p.m. The entrance fee is 1,200 yen for adults, 1,000 yen for college and high school students, 800 yen for elementary and middle school students, and 300 yen for children below the age of elementary school. No charge for children under two. For more details, contact the Prefectural Museum and Art Museum at 098-941-8200.
Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga died at a hospital in Urasoe City at 6:43 p.m. on August 8 at the age of 67. Onaga had been receiving treatments since his surgery for pancreatic cancer in April.
Onaga had pledged to block new base construction in Henoko, Nago, and has the highest prefectural popularity rating among the former governors. He had come into conflict with the central government, which promotes the plan to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan to Henoko.
On July 30, the Tokyo liaison council “Don’t Fill the Ocean in Henoko With Sand” held a rally to support Governor Takeshi Onaga’s announcement that he will revoke the approval of land reclamation work in Henoko, and to demand a halt to soil depositing.
The rally was held in front of the prime minister’s official residence, the Kantei.
Attendees also called for revisions to the Henoko base construction plan and for soil depositing scheduled for August to be abandoned.
On the evening of July 30, rally participants stand in front of the Kantei in Tokyo.
During the rally, a member of the organizing liaison council submitted a letter to the Cabinet Office requesting that soil deposits be stopped and that a stay of execution not be used against Governor Onaga’s revocation.
Aside from requests to the Japanese government, some participants were calling for signatures asking the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan to tangibly pursue making repeat inspections on construction in Henoko.
An 81-year-old woman from Tokyo who attended the sit-in at the Kantei showed sympathy for Governor Takeshi Onaga. She said, “I want to go to Okinawa, but I can’t make it, so I will raise my voice against base construction here. Having a base comes down to being complicit in war.
On the evening of July 30, rally participants stand in front of the Kantei in Tokyo.
Okinawa’s issues are also linked to pollution of the ocean. I want to help the governor, and his illness causes concern.”
Governor Takeshi Onaga announced his plan to nullify Okinawa’s approval of land-filling activity in Henoko Bay.
It looks like the Japanese government, who has been forcing through the new base facility construction, is preparing various countermeasures to meet this action, and the battle is expected to head to the judiciary.
What the government should be doing is fixing Okinawa’s situation of years and years suffering from the over-burden of bases.
They should respect the decision of the governor, made with the backing of Okinawa’s people, and give up the new base construction at Henoko.
Governor Onaga, who was elected in 2014, nullified the decision to allow the landfilling made by his predecessor, Hirokazu Nakaima.
Through things like enforcement litigation, mediation, and seeking a decision from the Committee for Settling National-Local Disputes, Okinawa was finally defeated in a lawsuit brought by the Japanese government arguing failure to cooperate on the part of Okinawa.
Since this nullified Onaga’s nullification, currently the approval of land filling is in effect.
If there was something illegal about the giving of approval, its “nullification” will be effective all the way back to the time it was given.
Conversely, if there was illegal activity after the approval was given, the “revocation” of the permission takes effect at that moment.
Either way, this authority is given to the governor by Public Water Body Reclamation Law, which removes the legal foundation for land reclamation by the operator, in this case the Japanese government.
If the government does not change its stance, the governor can hold a hearing for the operator, and rescind if necessary.
The repeated legal battles between Okinawa and the Japanese government is not normal.
The government has been running over Okinawa with lawsuits to push their unilateral position.
Even regarding the destruction of coral reef, the government unilaterally decided they did not need Okinawa’s permission and forced it through.
Okinawa brought forth a suit to stop this, which is still being argued in court.
In the enforcement lawsuit filed in 2015 after the approval was nullified, the judge advised out-of-court mediation, which was accepted by both sides.
However, the government soon revised their position, leading Okinawa to seek a ruling from National-Local Dispute Committee.
The committee chair however avoided giving a decision, instead commenting, “The best way to solve this issue is for the central government and Okinawa need to cooperate in earnest, and work together to reach a decision to which they both can agree.”
However, without any semblance of a will to cooperate, the central government opened up a new lawsuit.
Japan outright ignored the intent of both the judiciary and the committee.
The basis of this problem is the fact that Okinawa, which accounts for only 0.6% of all land in Japan, contains 70% of all the land designated for U.S. military use.
While the overburden of bases is being thrust upon them, the government continues to ignore the voice of a majority of Okinawans who want the bases reduced and forces through construction that is destroying valuable natural resources.
Is such behavior even thinkable outside of Okinawa?
Even Shigeru Ishiba, former Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) commented on choosing Henoko to construct the base, saying, “It is not the ‘best’ or even ‘better.’
It can only be called the ‘worst.’” There must be countless place outside of Okinawa that would not be “the worst.” If a replacement for MCAS Futenma is truly necessary, we must demand that it be outside of Okinawa.
This kind of iron-fisted rule unthinkable in other parts of the country has been thrust upon Okinawa.
There are two separate standards, which is the heart of discrimination.
Many Okinawans support the governor’s decision.
We once again call on the central government to hear the will of the people.
On July 27 at 10:30 a.m., Governor of Okinawa Takeshi Onaga held a special conference at the Prefectural Office.
Regarding the replacement facility for Futenma Air Station being built in Henoko, Onaga announced that he will revoke his predecessor’s approval of the land reclamation permit.
Onaga said, “To allow the approval to fill in public waters to remain in effect — despite recognition of ODB violations of ‘Points to Note’ [included in the approval] and its ex post facto non fulfillment [of terms] — would not be in line with public interest.”
He publicly indicated that he is pursuing revocation procedures.
The Okinawa Prefectural Government’s first steps in these procedures are to hold a hearing with the central government doing land reclamation work in Henoko, and to notify the Okinawa Defense Bureau (ODB) of the hearing.
The Okinawa Defense Bureau has informed the Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG) that if things go quickly land reclamation work will begin on August 17.
Onaga will use the best of his administrative authority to block soil deposits in the ocean area of Henoko.
At the beginning of the conference, Onaga criticized the Abe administration’s stance.
Onaga said, “The U.S. and North Korea are continuing efforts toward denuclearization of the peninsula and easing tensions.
I cannot approve of the Japanese government’s stance, coercively pushing forward with the Henoko replacement facility plan decided upon over 20 years ago.
I feel uneasy about what will be left in the wake of the current sweeping movement for peace.”
Regarding the construction work that is currently being moved forward, he explained, “I think it is insolent the way construction is being conducted.
Construction was moved forward without environmental conservation measures or even preparing prior consultations.
I have concluded that we cannot overlook things like notification of soil depositing as set forth in the Okinawa Prefecture Red Soil Prevention Ordinance.” Furthermore, he asserted, “I will exhaust all methods and put all my strength toward fulfilling my committment to not allowing the new base in Henoko to be built.”
The Okinawa Department of Culture, Tourism, and Sports announced the results of their Okinawan resident tourism awareness survey July 23.
This is the first time the department has conducted such a survey on Okinawan residents.
When asked if tourism is playing an important role in Okinawa’s economy, 46.2% of Okinawan’s responded “Very Important,” with the same percentage answering “Fairly Important,” which combined indicates that 86.4% of Okinawan residents view the tourism industry favorably.
However, in response to a question asking if the development of the tourism industry has made your life better, those who disagreed outnumbered those who agreed.
Also, there were relatively more respondents who answered negatively to a question asking if they wanted more tourists to come to the area where they live.
The breakdown of how residents answered the question asking if they thought that tourism had made their lives better is a follows: 9.9% said “Strongly Agree,” 19.2% said, “Somewhat Agree,” 33.5% said “No Opinion,” 25.5% said, “Somewhat Disagree,” and 11.6% said, “Strongly Disagree.”
When asked if they wanted more mainland Japan and Foreign tourists to visit Okinawa, 74.1% said they would like to see increased visitors from mainland Japan, and 73.9% said the same for foreign visitors.
However, when asked a similar question was asked about the same groups coming to the towns and cities where the residents live, a relatively smaller amount responded favorably; 60.4% said yes for Japanese visitors, and 56.1% said yes for foreign visitors.
When asked if they were in favor of a tourism tax, 18.3% said, “Agree,” 33.5% said “Somewhat Agree,” 33.0% said, “No Opinion,” 8.3% said, “Somewhat Disagree,” and 6.1% said, “Disagree.”
Takao Kadekaru, head of the Culture, Sports, and Tourism department said, “I want people to understand that tourism is not just hotels and the like, and that it can broaden people’s everyday lives and provide real benefit,” indicating the importance of educating people of the economic effects tourism promotion can bring.”
The survey ran from January 22 through March 8, soliciting responses from 2,000 men and women between the ages of 17 and 75, for which is received 1,500 effective responses.
On July 15, the Okinawa-Argentina Friendship Association held the 110th Anniversary Celebration of Argentine Republic’s Independence and Okinawa Citizens’ Immigration at a hall in the Okinawa Industry Support Center in Naha City, Okinawa.
This year makes 110 years since Okinawan citizens first emigrated to Argentina in 1908, making it a milestone.
About 100 people including Argentinian ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Alan Beraud and Secretary Marcela Berone, along with Pan-American Association in Okinawa President Moritoshi Ohyama and nikkei (Japanese American) immigrant members participated in the celebration.
Japanese, Okinawan, and Argentinians deepened their friendship.
He said, “It has been 120 years since diplomatic relations between Argentina and Japan was established.
Those who have immigrated from Okinawa have established a big community that comprises 80 percent of the 54,000 nikkei emigrants in Argentina.
They have enriched the Argentinian society on a daily basis.
I hope that we are able to walk alongside one another to further foster our friendship and bond.”
Besides giving a congratulatory speech to Okinawan Center in Argentina President Akira Tamagusuku, the ambassador also showed his appreciation for the friendship between Okinawa and Argentina.
The two then exchanged letters of appreciation.
The association also sent letters of appreciation to Masayuki Ohshiro and Teiichi Minei.
Andreas Higo, a nikkei second-generation who is the director of the association also gave a lecture on the history of immigration.
Okinawa Shogaku Senior High School student Ryoma Nakagawa, who visited Argentina as a part of the Kaiho Yoshu Network Building Program, spoke about his experience.
Events, such as the Ryukyu Buyo (Ryukyu dance) and traditional performing arts performed by the Okinawa Shogaku Senior High School’s Area Studies Club livened up the celebration.
Traditional Argentinian cuisine and candy were also shared. People danced the Kachashi (Okinawan folk dance) and strengthened their bonds.
(English translation by T&CT and Chelsea Ashimine)
On July 2, a Taiwanese cultural plaza called Taiwan Hao Market opened at the Ichibangai in Chuo, Okinawa City.
The market is meant to promote the cultural exchange and revitalization of Okinawa City’s Ichibangai and Taiwan’s Dihua Street. An opening reception was held at the plaza building on June 29.
Tea and imported goods directly from Taiwan will be sold at the cultural plaza, and there will be Taiwanese lectures and workshops.
Changhuanye is a god from the XiaHai City God Temple, a temple that has a history of over 100 years in Taipei.
This god is believed to have benefits for good business, perfect health, and traffic safety, and is enshrined at the plaza for a limited time until the end of August.
At the opening reception, students from two elementary schools from Taiwan played string instruments.
Popular Taiwanese desserts such as Tapioka milk tea and mung bean zenzai were offered to visitors.
Kyohei Shu of the Asian City Exchange Center announced, “I am very happy to realize a way for future children to engage in cultural exchange.
I hope for further exchange and development of both sides in the from here on out.”
As a part of the “City Cultural Exchange Month,” the non-profit community development organization Koza Machi Shachu has been working to hold Taiwan-Okinawa cultural exchange events and events to promote tourism from June 29 to the end of August.
The cultural plaza is open from 10 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday, and closed on Sundays.
On July 22 the Ryukyu Shimpo selected an international group to receive the Ryukyu Shimpo Ikemiyagushiku Shui Award.
The group selected had released a 2014 Okinawa statement signed by 103 international scholars, peace advocates and artists opposing construction of a replacement facility in Henoko for Futenma Air Station.
An award ceremony and commemorative symposium will be held on September 15 at Ryukyu Shimpo Hall.
The statement was released in January 2014. As of January 28 of that year there were 103 signatories and supporters of the statement, including the linguist Noam Chomsky, Academy Award-winning director Oliver Stone, historian John Dower, and political scientist Johan Galtung.
This statement criticized the Abe administration for forcing through construction of a replacement facility in Henoko, and former Governor of Okinawa Hirokazu Nakaima for approving the land reclamation permit.
It began with the words, “We oppose construction of a new US military base within Okinawa, and support the people of Okinawa in their struggle for peace, dignity, human rights and protection of the environment.”
In its international signature campaign this statement later gathered 15,000 signatories.
This award’s selection committee was comprised of former professor at the University of the Ryukyus and former Vice Governor of Okinawa Mikio Higa, professor emeritus at Waseda University Keiko Katsukata-Inafuku, and professor at the University of the Ryukyus Masaaki Gabe.
It is the committee’s aim to select an individual or group that aligns with the purpose of the award, which is raising international awareness of the challenges that Okinawa faces and contributing to breaking the deadlock over Okinawa.
The committee appreciates that, “The significance of John Dower and other international scholars disseminating information about Okinawans’ popular will opposing the replacement facility is huge.”
The Ryukyu Shimpo established the Ikemiyagushiku Shui Award in 2008 for the purpose of disseminating information about the challenges that Okinawa faces.
In doing so, the newspaper is honoring the spirit of its former president Shui Ikemiyagushiku and carrying on his work of raising awareness of Okinawa’s public sentiment, which he pursued in the postwar period during the U.S. occupation of Okinawa and following its return to Japan.
Webcam(Kokusai Street)
