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February 3, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
Tokyo – On February 2, the Haisai! Okinawa Festival began at JA Tokyo AgriPark in Yoyogi, Tokyo. The event is run by JA Okinawa and showcases Okinawan tourism and products. The festival will share Okinawan tourism, goods, and produce like bitter melon (goya) with the Greater Tokyo Area through February 6.
Many items were sent from Okinawa for the festival, from kogiku flowers and seven vegetables, including...
February 3, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
According to a visual inspection conducted by the Okinawa Defense Bureau starting in April 2017, the number of takeoffs/landings performed by aircraft at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Futenma for the year of 2020 was 17,500, the highest number...
February 4, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
Tokyo—On the evening of February 3, citizens opposed to the relocation of U.S. Air Station Futenma to Henoko, Nago City, protested in front of the Japanese Prime Minister’s official residence in Tokyo. The protest was precipitated by the...
February 4, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
After U.S. military aircraft were spotted flying at low altitude near the Kerama islands, Okinawa gubernatorial chief of staff Masaru Kinjo lodged a protest to 353d Special Operations Group Commander Colonel Michael A. Thomas on February 3. According...
February 2, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
Takeshi Asato, 45, was at home in Miyagi, Chatan, on January 31 when he photographed a humpback whale jumping majestically out in the ocean.
That day, Asato noticed a tourist boat docked close to shore and watched on with curiosity....
February 2, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
The Okinawa Regional Headquarters of the Japanese Meteorological Association (JMA) announced February 1 that the cherry (hikanzakura) blossom trees in Naha were in full bloom. The announcement comes three days earlier than the yearly average,...
January 29, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
by Wakana Arakaki
Chatan – After a woman was killed by a U.S. soldier in the Kuwae neighborhood of Chatan, Okinawa in April of 2019, Okinawa Prefecture opened a counseling service called “Solution Center Ayumu) January 5 in Chatan Town...
January 29, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
On January 28, the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), stationed in Okinawa, and the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) started joint training at the Kin Blue Beach Training Area against the wishes of the Okinawa prefectural government, which requested restraint for the sake...
January 29, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
Miyako-jima – On January 28, the city of Miyako-jima confirmed 35 new cases of Covid-19 in one day, a record high. Recently, every day has set a new record for the highest number of new cases in a day. Residents’ worry is obvious. “At this...
January 16, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
Uruma City—Throughout the 2020 school year, Okinawa AMICUS International Elementary School teacher Kaoru Joanna Uezu worked with her fifth-grade class to send submissions to the “Voice” and “Ryu PON!” sections of the Ryukyu Shimpo. The...
January 25, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
A secret 2015 agreement reached between the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) and the U.S. Marine Corps has come to light. The deal agrees to station the JGSDF’s remote island defense unit, the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB),...