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Rainbow adorns sky over Tacchu in Iejima, Okinawa during first sunrise of the new year

Rainbow adorns sky over Tacchu in Iejima, Okinawa during first sunrise of the new year

January 1, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Hiroe Nakagawa

Around 8:00 a.m. on January 1, a rainbow appeared arching over Mount Gusuku (also known as Tacchu), a symbol of Iejima, Okinawa.

Although there was thick cloud cover at the time of sunrise, approximately 7:15 a.m., the sun gradually began to appear from behind the clouds. After 7:40 a.m., rain fell in large drops even though the sun’s brightness spread across the sprawling blue sky. Thereafter, a double rainbow appeared...

 

Diplomas made of Basho-shi by sixth graders in Ogimi, home of Basho-fu and Shikuwasa

Diplomas made of Basho-shi by sixth graders in Ogimi, home of Basho-fu and Shikuwasa

December 27, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Ikue Asato

 

Ogimi – In Ogimi, the home of basho-fu (traditional cloth made from banana fibers) and shikuwasa (Okinawa lime), 29 sixth graders at Ogimi Elementary School made diplomas from basho-shi (paper made...

“Drowns out the TV”: Residents share Takae updates on YouTube, including U.S. military noise pollution and waste

“Drowns out the TV”: Residents share Takae updates on YouTube, including U.S. military noise pollution and waste

December 22, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Shohei Tsukazaki

 

 

“No Helipad” Takae Residents’ Association (“Helipaddo Iranai” Takae Jumin-no-kai) is a local group that protested the construction of helipads inside the U.S. Marine Corps Jungle Warfare Training...

Who is the “Best man in the world?” Men who have been cultivating their intelligence, personality, and physique gather in Okinawa.

Who is the “Best man in the world?” Men who have been cultivating their intelligence, personality, and physique gather in Okinawa.

December 22, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

Onna – The “Mr. World Noble King 2020 Global Competition in Okinawa” (hosted by GLAWIS), which crowns one of the participants the “Best Man in the World,” was held December 20 at the Okinawa Kariyushi Beach Resort Ocean Spa in Onna. This...

Peace Prayer Statue cleaned as prayer for peaceful New Yea in Itoman

Peace Prayer Statue cleaned as prayer for peaceful New Yea in Itoman

December 17, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

Itoman – On December 16, the Okinawa Peace Prayer Statue at the Okinawa Peace Hall in Mabuni, Itoman, was wiped clean of dust as part of a “cleansing” in preparation for the new year. In a normal year, around 20 people including bus tour guides...

Okinawa Christians sing outside U.S. military base wishing for a peaceful world without fence

Okinawa Christians sing outside U.S. military base wishing for a peaceful world without fence

December 16, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Hirofumi Mazaki

 

Kitanakagusuku—On the evening of December 13, about 70 people gathered outside one of the gates to U.S. Marine Corps’ Camp Foster for the 33rd Christmas for Okinawans event, which was organized by various Christian...

Association of War-Bereaved Families protests soil collection plan for construction in Henoko

Association of War-Bereaved Families protests soil collection plan for construction in Henoko

December 18, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

On November 11 the Association of War-Bereaved Families Opposed to War and Praying for Peace held a protest against the plan for collecting soil from the southern part of Okinawa Island and using the soil for land reclamation work in Henoko. The...

Digital Extra – Okinawan native Taira wins the Pacific League Rookie of the Year award after recording no losses and 33 holds as a relief pitcher for the Seibu Lions

Digital Extra – Okinawan native Taira wins the Pacific League Rookie of the Year award after recording no losses and 33 holds as a relief pitcher for the Seibu Lions

December 17, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

The NPB Awards, which announces the season award winners in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), was held December 17, and the Rookie of the Year in the Pacific League was awarded to Seibu Lions’ right-handed relief pitcher Kaima Taira (21, Yaeyama Shoko High...

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Takaaki Kajita speaks to high school students at OIST, tells of the mysteries of space and the “strength to persevere”

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Takaaki Kajita speaks to high school students at OIST, tells of the mysteries of space and the “strength to persevere”

November 29, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

On November 28, Takaaki Kajita, director of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research at the University of Tokyo who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2015, gave a speech at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University...

Preserving the craft, craftsmen learn to plaster traditional Ryukyuan red-tiles

Preserving the craft, craftsmen learn to plaster traditional Ryukyuan red-tiles

December 6, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

On December5, the Prefectural Ryukyu Aka-gawara Plastering Cooperative held a training course on plastering Ryukyu aka-gawara, or red earthen roof tiles, for plasterers from all over Okinawa, at the Prefectural Vocational Ability Development Association...

Okinawan Prefectural Assembly sends Chinese foreign minister statement regarding Okinawan fishing boats in the Senkaku Islands “These are not disguised boats”

Okinawan Prefectural Assembly sends Chinese foreign minister statement regarding Okinawan fishing boats in the Senkaku Islands “These are not disguised boats”

December 8, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

During the second day of general inquiries at the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly’s (OPA) regular November session December 7, eight members of the Okinawa-Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) faction took the podium. In response to a claim made by Chinese...