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700 JGSDF members stationed at Miyako-jima attend ceremony amid pandemic

700 JGSDF members stationed at Miyako-jima attend ceremony amid pandemic

April 5, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

Miyako-jima, Okinawa—On April 5, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force 15th Brigade held a ceremony to conclude the military structuring of Miyako-jima base in Ueno-nobaru, Miyako-jima City. The event was held against requests from the city and the local medical association to delay, given the recent spread of COVID-19. Locals staged a protest outside the main gate of the base, demanding the deployment of forces to stop. They handed a letter of...

 

Money for the afterlife, “Uchikabi” production springs into peak production as the Okinawan shimi season kicks off

Money for the afterlife, “Uchikabi” production springs into peak production as the Okinawan shimi season kicks off

April 6, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

A vital part of shimi in Okinawa, the tomb sweeping festival season, as well as the Bon festival, the peak season for manufacturing “uchikabi,” money for the afterlife, has arrived. Showa Seishi (Uruma), Okinawa’s only manufacturer of...

Shuri Castle main hall to be restored by 2026, according to schedule decided on at ministerial meeting

Shuri Castle main hall to be restored by 2026, according to schedule decided on at ministerial meeting

March 27, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

On the morning of March 27, the government held a meeting of relevant ministers, headed by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, to discuss the restoration of Shuri Castle at the Prime Minister’s official residence. The members of the meeting drew up a schedule...

Okinawan economic organizations come together to call for aid for business owners from Governor Tamaki amid coronavirus pandemic

Okinawan economic organizations come together to call for aid for business owners from Governor Tamaki amid coronavirus pandemic

March 31, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

Representatives from 12 economic organizations in Okinawa gathered at the Okinawa Harbor View Hotel in Naha March 31 for a Committee of Okinawan Economic Organizations meeting (Denichiro Ishimine, chair), where they asked Governor Denny Tamaki to enact emergency...

Editorial: Expert panel calls for public discourse on base-issues

March 31, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

How should Henoko’s military base construction issue, stemming from the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, be addressed? An expert panel recently provided an answer to this question.

Okinawa prefecture previously formed the “Bankoku...

Editorial: 75 years after U.S. landing on Kerama, remember the past for a peaceful future

March 27, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

Reject all things that beget war.

The tragedy that took the precious lives and wealth of Okinawans must not be forgotten, but passed on. We must renew this promise, to ensure peace in Okinawa.

The Battle of Okinawa began at the end of March in 1945,...

OPG loses lawsuit against Land Minister’s decision to cancel OPG’s revocation of land reclamation permission

OPG loses lawsuit against Land Minister’s decision to cancel OPG’s revocation of land reclamation permission

March 26, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

Regarding construction of the Futenma replacement facility in Henoko, Nago City as part of relocating MCAS Futenma, Okinawa’s lawsuit requesting cancellation of the Land Minister’s decision to cancel the Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG)’s revocation...

Okinawa “5/15 Peace March” cancelled for first time to prevent spread of novel coronavirus

Okinawa

March 25, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

On March 25 the Okinawa Peace Movement Center (Chairman Hiroji Yamashiro) held an action committee meeting, at which it was decided that the 43rd 5/15 Peace March would be cancelled.

This is the first time the peace march has been cancelled. The rally, which...

Naha Airport’s Runway No. 2 open for use, first flight to land greeted by firehose arch

Naha Airport’s Runway No. 2 open for use, first flight to land greeted by firehose arch

March 26, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

Naha Airport’s No. 2 runway, built by filling in land off the coast, opened for use March 26.

The runway’s first arrival, a flight from Skymark Airlines, touched down at 8:05 a.m., and was greeted by a water arch provided by a pair of firetrucks on either...

Official history of Ryukyu Kingdom to be designated Important National Cultural Property

Official history of Ryukyu Kingdom to be designated Important National Cultural Property

March 19, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

On March 19, Japan’s Council for Cultural Affairs made a recommendation to Koichi Hagiuda, the minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, to designate the official history books of the Ryukyu Kingdom—the Chuzan Seikan (six volumes), Chuzan...

Former members of referendum association meet, plan to ask prefectural government to re-revoke land reclamation permit

Former members of referendum association meet, plan to ask prefectural government to re-revoke land reclamation permit

March 22, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

On March 21, former members of the “Henoko” Prefectural Referendum Association, who directly petitioned for the holding of the prefectural referendum in February 2019 on whether residents supported or opposed the land reclamation in Henoko, Nago as part of the...