May 6, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
Text and Photography by Hiroyuki Takatsuji
“People used to call these the fisherman’s bonus, but no one spares them a second glance in this day and age,” says Yoshikatsu Yamashiro showing the fish he caught. Katsu, as his friends call him, is a suntanned 76 year-old fisherman in Kaganji, Kunigami. His catch is the pearl-spot chromis, called hichiguwa or hikaa in the local dialect. These fish are in-season in early summer when their bellies are full...
May 7, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
Ishigaki – In order to cheer up the children whose school has been closed due to the spread of the coronavirus, the teachers at Ohama Elementary school in Ishigaki (Takashi Urasaki, principal) wrote out a message using flower boxes that said, “Beat the coronavirus...
May 9, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
On May 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco ruled against the Japanese and American environmental groups that brought a “dugong suit” against the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in an effort to stop the construction of a new military...
May 5, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Erina Ishii
Okinawan mangoes and pineapples are popular all throughout Japan as high-class gifts. However, as the coronavirus pandemic will now extend later into the year, anxieties have arisen around slumping sales in the summer. Farmers, who...
May 1, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
Is intolerance plaguing our society as we become engulfed in the crisis brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic? The increasing downplaying of our freedom and rising social pressure is alarming.
Prefectures have requested businesses to shut down and urged...
May 5, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
On May 4, in light of the national government’s decision to extend Japan’s state of emergency regarding the coronavirus, a committee of experts formed by the Okinawa prefectural government held a meeting at the Okinawa Prefectural Medical Association hall in Haebaru...
April 30, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Yukito Kinjo
Ie – Mr. Yoshio Yamajiro of Nishiue, Ie Village drives his beloved tractor, humming a tune. Yoshio, who was born on April 10, 1920 and turned 100 years old this year, is an active “farmer-grandpa.” Hard of hearing and with mild pain in...
April 30, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
Around 2 a.m. on April 29, a U.S.-made 250-kilogram bomb, presumed to be a World War II relic, was found at Naha Airport’s Runway 1 construction site. Due to this, Runway 1 will be closed from April 29, leaving only Runway 2 operational. According to Naha Airport,...
April 29, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
A shisa statue standing at the side entrance of the Okinawa Prefectural Office on Kokusaidori in Naha could be seen wearing a cloth mask through April 28. The mask was placed there by Mari Ishikawa from Okinawa Ryusoen, a nearby store that makes and sells Kariyushi...
April 28, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
At a regular press conference on April 24, Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, in advance of the 68th anniversary of the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty on April 28, 1952, stated, regarding his hope to see the overwhelming burden of bases on Okinawa reduced,...
April 26, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Eriko Tamaki
The effects of the continued COVID-19 pandemic have rippled out to effect Okinawan-produced goods. Since almost all omiyage stores and other tourist facilities are currently closed for business, there has been a steep decline in sales of souvenirs...
Webcam(Kokusai Street)