Top News

Kadena Mayor requests base burden reduction following recent “intolerable” noise and odor from Kadena Air Base

Kadena Mayor requests base burden reduction following recent “intolerable” noise and odor from Kadena Air Base

March 18, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

Due to aircraft noise and a foul odor coming from Kadena Air Base and increasing in severity on and after March 15, Mayor Hiroshi Toyama of Kadena Town visited Director General Toshinori Tanaka of the Okinawa Defense Bureau at said Bureau on March 17 and requested a reduction in the base burden on residents in areas surrounding the base. Director General Tanaka said that, in response to the strong request that the U.S. military keep its influence...

 

Editorial: U.S. transpartisan letter an opportunity for international solidarity aimed at stopping new base

March 16 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

We must take full advantage of this letter. The Overseas Base Realignment and Closure Coalition, a group of U.S. intellectuals, former officials, and others, published a letter addressed to President Biden calling for closure of U.S. military bases...

Ryukyuan dance supporting Shuri reconstruction performed in front of Imperial Palace as part of dance exhibition

Ryukyuan dance supporting Shuri reconstruction performed in front of Imperial Palace as part of dance exhibition

March 16, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

Tokyo – The Japan Cultural Expo Imperial Garden Special Dance Performance “Inori no kachi” (hosted by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Ministry of the Environment, and the Japan Arts Council) was held March 14 on a specially constructed...

Iori Nakamura, who has a disability, admitted to high school in fourth year applying

Iori Nakamura, who has a disability, admitted to high school in fourth year applying

March 10, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

On March 10, entrance exam results were announced for Okinawa Prefectural High Schools and Special Needs Schools. Iori Nakamura, who has a severe intellectual disability and is now in his fourth year of taking entrance exams, was accepted into Mawashi...

Okinawa chrysanthemums hit peak shipping period in lead up to Higan holiday, extra shipping flights also being scheduled

Okinawa chrysanthemums hit peak shipping period in lead up to Higan holiday, extra shipping flights also being scheduled

March 12, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

With the Japanese holiday Higan approaching in March, the busiest time of the year has come for shipping Okinawa-grown chrysanthemums. The chrysanthemums, which are used to adorn graves and Buddhist shrines, has seen a relatively minor impact from...

JASDF has first PAC-3 missile system training at Kadena Air Base despite local opposition

JASDF has first PAC-3 missile system training at Kadena Air Base despite local opposition

March 10, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

On the morning of March 10, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) stationed at Naha Air Base in Okinawa conducted, at Kadena Air Base, its first mobilization/deployment training with the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) surface-to-air missile system. The training...

Video: Two aircrafts observed flying at low altitudes off the coast of Zamami, “so close”

Video: Two aircrafts observed flying at low altitudes off the coast of Zamami, “so close”

March 12, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

On March 10, two large aircrafts believed to be U.S. Air Force special operations aircraft MC-130J were observed flying at low altitudes off the coast of Zamami Island. According to eyewitnesses, the two planes flew west over the inland sea between...

“Moon rainbow” arc in the night sky–an omen of happiness? Previously unrecorded in Okinawa Island

“Moon rainbow” arc in the night sky--an omen of happiness? Previously unrecorded in Okinawa Island

March 8, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

A rainbow in the night sky, called a “moon rainbow (gekkou),” appeared at Okuma Beach in Kunigami Village, Okinawa. Akira Oyama, age 57, who serves as a nature guide in the village succeeded in capturing a photograph of the rainbow on March...

New bill looks to restrict land sales around military facilities in current Diet session, potentially including a wide residential area in Okinawa

New bill looks to restrict land sales around military facilities in current Diet session, potentially including a wide residential area in Okinawa

March 6, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Yukinao Chinen

 

Tokyo – The Japanese government is planning to enact a bill with the current Diet that would further restrict the sale of land around facilities that are important for security. They confirmed the outline for this bill on...

Hunger-striking Takamatsu Gushiken claims to foreign media, “The U.S. has a concerned interest in the dirt excavation.”

Hunger-striking Takamatsu Gushiken claims to foreign media, “The U.S. has a concerned interest in the dirt excavation.”

March 5, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

Takamatsu Gushiken, 67, who represents the Battle of Okinawa victim remains recovery volunteer group Gamafuya, is continuing a hunger strike demanding a stop to a plan to use earth from the southern region of Okinawa, where the remains of the victims...

Okinawan actress Yuina Kuroshima to star in new NHK series airing next spring

Okinawan actress Yuina Kuroshima to star in new NHK series airing next spring

March 3, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

Actress Yuina Kuroshima, 23, who hails from Itoman City, Okinawa, was chosen to play the heroine in Chimu Don Don, the newest NHK morning TV drama series slated to air in spring 2022. The show commemorates the 50th anniversary of Okinawa’s...