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ZAN movie about Henoko’s dugongs holds first screening in Nago

ZAN movie about Henoko’s dugongs holds first screening in Nago

April 19, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 5, the Nature Conservation Society of Japan (NACS-J) and the Tokyo-based branding company ImageMILL held a screening event of the documentary film ZAN at Nago Civic Hall. The film addresses dugongs’ habitats in national natural monuments of Japan such as Oura Bay in the sea of Henoko, Nago City. Not only did the hearts of those who watched the film go out to the dugongs, their conviction to oppose land reclamation for the Futenma Air Station relocation...

 

Legends tell of dugong curses

Legends tell of dugong curses

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...

Project Restores Ryukyu Kingdom-Era Art and Techniques using Modern Science

April 20, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

Okinawa prefecture is making progress in revitalizing the techniques for making exquisite Ryukyu Kingdom-era arts and crafts with the Ryukyu Kingdom cultural heritage collection and restoration project. Making use of modern science and techniques, the project began...

Okinawa International Karate Tournament to be held in August 2018, hosting up to 6,000 participants from other prefectures and abroad

Okinawa International Karate Tournament to be held in August 2018, hosting up to 6,000 participants from other prefectures and abroad

April 19, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

The Okinawa International Karate Tournament executive committee, which plans to host the 1st Okinawa International Karate Tournament in August 2018, held its second general meeting in Naha City on April 19.
The tournament will be held in kata category’s...

Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau introduces new mascot to boost Okinawa tourism

Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau introduces new mascot to boost Okinawa tourism

April 11, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 10, the Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau (OCVB) unveiled Maharo-kun as a new mascot. Serving as a promotional ambassador for Okinawa together with Hanagasa Mahae-chan and the three Miss Okinawa beauty queens, he will work to draw domestic and foreign...

Editorial: The Marines must withdraw to the continental U.S. after stray bullets found at Onna construction site

April 16, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

An accident which should never happen has happened in Onna. At the Afuso Dam construction site in the Camp Hansen Marine Corps base, damage that appears to have come from stray bullets was found in water tanks and the cars of dam workers.

When the stray bullets...

Okinawa Prefecture to send a request for cooperation on the Henoko issue to environmental protection organizations

Okinawa Prefecture to send a request for cooperation on the Henoko issue to environmental protection organizations

April 11, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

Okinawa Prefecture will send a written statement to request that the International Conservation Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN) and the other main environmental protection organizations in Japan reach out to the Japanese government to take measures to avoid...

Residents decorate Nakagusuku castle ruins with fourteen shisa

Residents decorate Nakagusuku castle ruins with fourteen shisa

April 6, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

The association of landscaping with shisa placed fourteen shisa in front of the Nakagusuku castle ruins on March 29. This is the fourth project in which they have placed shisa statues after the Adaniya intersection, the Ogido old bus stop, and the Nakagusuku Kitanakagusuku...

Citizen protesting against new base construction saves baby turtle in Oura Bay

Citizen protesting against new base construction saves baby turtle in Oura Bay

April 17, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 14, in Oura Bay, Nago City, Tadashi Shimabukuro, 56, a member of the canoe team staging a protest against the construction of a new U.S. base, saved a sick green turtle.

According to Shimabukuro, the green turtle floated on the surface of the sea...

Dangers of MCAS Futenma remain unresolved 21 years after base return agreement

Dangers of MCAS Futenma remain unresolved 21 years after base return agreement

April 12, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

April 12 marked 21 years since the U.S. and Japanese governments agreed on the whole return of Futenma Air Station to Okinawa. Since the Futenma Air Station return plan set forth construction of a replacement facility in Henoko and therefore within Okinawa, Okinawans...

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of The Art of Living Foundation, speaks of inner peace in Nagagusuku

April 13, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,...