December 8, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo
Isao Takahata, the eighty-year-old film director of Studio Ghibli animations, made his appearance in front of the gate of the U.S. Marines’ Camp Schwab on December 6. Takahata has earned critical acclaim for Grave of the Fireflies and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, among many other notable works.
Citizens protesting against a new U.S. military base construction in Henoko welcomed Takahata with a round of applause. Takahata emphasized, “The Japanese...
December 15, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo
December 14 marked the establishment of a new organization called the “All Okinawa Kaigi” to prevent the construction of a new base in Henoko. The organization is a broad-based coalition encompassing many political parties, citizens’ groups, and business...
December 15, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo
Tsuyoshi Arakaki reports from Beijing
The Ryukyu Forum addressing Okinawa’s present condition and aiming to assign roles in Sino-Japanese cultural exchange opened on December 14 at Beijing Normal University, with Okinawan politicians, scholars, and reporters...
December 11, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo
One year has passed since the U.S. military in Japan revised its ‘liberty policy’, the code of conduct for the U.S. service members and civilian employees in Okinawa, and allowed staying out and drinking off base during off-duty hours.
According to...
December 11, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo
On December 10, Chuya Shinzato of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) Marine Genomics Unit announced the results of research into the coral genetic information of coral reefs found in the Ryukyu Archipelago. The result shows...
December 10, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo
On December 10, Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga marked his first anniversary since taking office. The Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG) continues to receive letters from across Japan supporting the governor. In an unusual situation, in which the OPG is fighting...
December 11, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo
On the morning of December 11, eleven members of Veterans for Peace (VFP), an organization made up of U.S. military veterans, joined the sit-in protest in front of the Camp Schwab gate. Citizen protests continue here daily in opposition to the planned relocation...
December 8, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo
At a November gathering of the prefectural assembly, Governor of Okinawa Takeshi Onaga stated that considering the current circumstances surrounding planned construction of the helipad in Higashi Village, Takae and possible use of U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey...
December 6, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo
The U.S. and Japanese governments recently agreed on the return of two small slivers of land totaling 7 hectares, a mere 0.031% of the total 22,370 hectares of Okinawan land being used exclusively for U.S. military facilities. Is this really the “visible progress”...
December 4, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo
Resort hotel Hyakuna Garan Okinawa in Nanjo has received global awards and raised its profile both in Japan and overseas. The hotel received the World Luxury Hotel Award, Hotel of the Year, and Luxury Travel Guide Award in the June to September period. Specialists...
December 6, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo
On December 6, actor Tomiko Taira, known as Tomi Taira, died of respiratory failure caused by blood poisoning. Taira was from Naha.
When she was 13 years old, Taira joined the Kojiro Onaga troupe in Ishigaki. Along with her husband Susumu, she also participated...
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