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July 10, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
An auspicious custom with awamori.
On July 9, in hopes of passing on the culture of and to promote Ryukyu awamori, the Yonabaru Town Council unanimously agreed on Okinawa Prefecture’s first “ordinance that promotes toasting with Yonabaru Town’s Ryukyu awamori” during their extraordinary meeting.
The ordinance also went into effect on the same day.
The hope is that while observing alcohol consumption etiquette and respecting individual...
July 10, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
Recently, Assistant Professor Takuto Shitara of the Iriomote Station at the University of the Ryukyus Biosphere Research Center succeeded in photographing an Iriomote cat kitten.
Iriomote cats are Special Natural Monuments of Japan, peculiar to Taketomi Town...
July 16, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
Hiroki Ohashi
Okinawa’s finger-whistling music can be heard cheering on the teams at high school baseball games and at Eisa performances. On July 7, Finger-Whistling Day, a “Summer Vacation Finger-Whistling Concert 2019” was held at the JICA Okinawa...
July 08, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
Koza City, known as “the military-base town”, is a microcosm of Okinawa. Okinawa City Tourism and Promotion Association has worked to allure visitors locally and from afar, under its president, Takashi Shimabukuro.
The association began receiving class...
July 9, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
In June, a plan by the NPO Ichiman-nin Idobata Kaigi, which runs the Hantagawa Community Center in Naha, Okinawa, to build community centers in Egypt was adopted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as a “project for promoting...
July 6, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
On July 6 about 350 people gathered in front of a Camp Schwab gate, demonstrating their opposition to the construction of the Futenma Replacement Facility (FRF) in Henoko, Nago City, for the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma (MCAS Futenma).
This...
July 9, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
Toyko – The Japanese government decided July 9 not to appeal a ruling by the Kumamoto District Court that recognized that as part of the government’s quarantine policy for those afflicted with Hansen’s disease, not only the afflicted but also the families suffered...
July 3, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
The Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG) has decided to propose to the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly an ordinance to protect scarce prefectural wildlife, due to the poaching and exploitation of Okinawa’s wildlife.
Because there are many rare forms of wildlife...
July 4, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
Local residents who oppose Northern Training Area (NTA) helipads have set up tents, tent furnishings, simple toilets and other items as part of their opposition in front of the NTA’s N1 zone gate.
On July 2 the U.S. Marine Corps in Okinawa removed these...
July 4, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Erina Ishii
Due to a poor harvest of Okinawan mozuku in 2019, production totals have decreased by 6,000 tons from 2018 levels, and are expected to total around 15,000 tons.
It is believed to be caused by a combination of factors including climate...
June 29, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
On June 28, 37-year-old model and actress from Naha, Kurara Chibana’s first anthology “At the Beginning, There was Love” was released at bookstores.
The anthology will hit Okinawa’s shelves at the beginning of July.
Besides writing about her...