Top News

Okinawa tourist numbers break record, reaching about 8 million

April 21, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

The Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG) announced that visitor arrivals in 2015 reached 7,936,300, which is a 10.7 percent increase from the previous year. This is a new record. Foreign visitors increased by 69.4 percent, reaching 1,670,300. Expansion in airline routes as well as an increase in cruise ships contributed to the drastic increase. Due to typhoons in the summer, domestic visitors remained at 6,266,000, 1.3 percent increase from the previous year....

 

Mac Yonamine spreads Okinawa love in Hawaii

Mac Yonamine spreads Okinawa love in Hawaii

April 25, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Hanae Higa Gushiken

This January, Mac Masayuki Yonamine (Nishihara Chojin Kai of Hawaii United Okinawa Association) turned 88 years old. Last year, Yonamine made donations to the Hawaii Okinawa Center towards the installation of an elevator and for the...

Film shows former village where Futenma Air Station now stands

April 6, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 25, at a public hall in Ginowan, the Aza-Ginowan Hometown Association (chaired by Seiichi Miyagi) unveiled its completed DVD, Images of the Village before the Battle, about Ginowan prior to the Battle of Okinawa. The Association made this DVD with the purpose...

Before dispute committee, Okinawa Governor calls Henoko land reclamation “egregious act of folly”

Before dispute committee, Okinawa Governor calls Henoko land reclamation “egregious act of folly”

April 23, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 22, at the Ministry of Local Affairs and Communications, the Committee for Settling National-Local Disputes held its third meeting regarding the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma relocation issue. Last year, Okinawan Governor Takeshi Onaga rescinded...

Constitutional scholar Setsu Kobayashi: Henoko base construction is flagrant constitutional violation

Constitutional scholar Setsu Kobayashi: Henoko base construction is flagrant constitutional violation

April 21, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 20, the All-Okinawa Naha Association to Realize the Aims of the Kempakusho and Pave the Way to the Future held a fiscal 2016 general meeting and a speaking event at the Palette Civic Theater in Naha. Keio University Professor Emeritus Setsu Kobayashi spoke...

Two letters preserved in Okinawa not original

Two letters preserved in Okinawa not original

April 17, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 16, Satoru Kuroshima, an associate professor of History from the Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo, visited a family in Ehime to examine a preserved letter that was sent from Yoshihisa Shimazu, a Satsuma warlord, to Sho Nei, king of the...

Ancient letter from Shimazu to Ryukyu king found in Ehime

April 13, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 13, a letter sent from Yoshihisa Shimazu, a Satsuma warlord, to Sho Nei, king of the Ryukyu Kingdom was discovered in an old house in Iyo City, Ehime Prefecture , according to Kyodo News. The letter was a request to send envoys, celebrating Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s...

Whale couple dance in Tokashiki

Whale couple dance in Tokashiki

April 20, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Hideaki Yoneda

Yuriko Nishiura, the manager of a local diving shop in Tokashiki Village, managed to snap a photograph of humpback whales breeding under the water. She saw the whale couple moving their tail fins. Nishiura said, “I managed to catch...

Yunapachiku shelter monument built to commemorate history of forced mass suicide in Ie Island

Yunapachiku shelter monument built to commemorate history of forced mass suicide in Ie Island

April 20, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 12, an unveiling ceremony was held at the Yunapachiku Shelter in Ie Village where a monument was created to commemorate a forced mass suicide that occurred during the Battle of Okinawa. About 30 people including Mayor Hideyuki Shimabukuro and 80-year-old...

UN Special Rapporteur shows concern over Japanese government’s crackdown on Henoko protesters

UN Special Rapporteur shows concern over Japanese government's crackdown on Henoko protesters

April 20, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

David Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, visited Japan to research how the Japanese government has been handling its citizens’ freedom of expression. Kaye held a press conference...

Former president Gorbachev writes letter to encourage Okinawan people

Former president Gorbachev writes letter to encourage Okinawan people

April 22, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

The Ryukyu Shimpo has received a letter from Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union who led to the end of the Cold War and won the Nobel Peace Prize. In his letter, Gorbachev encourages Okinawan people to resist against militarization. His letter...