The fifth meeting of the painting and engraving working group within the national technical exploratory committee for reconstruction of Shuri Castle was held on February 24 in Naha. The working group reported that they have found that Kushi bengala, the red iron oxide pigment responsible for the Seiden’s characteristic red color, is derived from iron-oxidizing bacteria found near the water in Kushi (Nago). The team is investigating the appropriate shade and fineness.
During the last reconstruction, the pigment was not used because its nature could not be determined. This time, the working group is increasing the durability and carrying out experiments with the goal of actually using the pigment.
The village of Nakagusuku, Okinawa Prefecture, plans to reimburse local wedding and reception costs up to 100,000 yen per couple beginning in fiscal 2022.
The budget will be submitted to the village council’s March regular meeting on March 4.
The funding will help couples that were unable to have their wedding during the pandemic, as well as the local bridal industry which was hit hard by the dampened economy. According to Nakagusuku’s industrial promotion division, the subsidy is the first of its kind in the prefecture. Couples looking to receive reimbursement will need to provide receipts from the wedding hall. Further details are still under discussion. The subsidy will use 5 million yen from the special regional development government grant and is budgeted based on 50 couples.
Mayor Kyosuke Hamada, commented, “I hope young people will take advantage of the scheme and find joy during the pandemic.”
Regarding the U.S. Marine Corps in Okinawa carrying out training involving aircraft taking off from and landing at the Naha Port Facility (Naha Military Port), the Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG) invited Director Isao Ono of the Okinawa Defense Bureau and Ambassador in charge of Okinawan Affairs Naofumi Hashimoto of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to visit the Prefectural Office on February 15, and called for the U.S. military to completely stop aircraft takeoffs/landings and training at Naha Military Port.
Okinawa Vice Governor Kiichiro Jahana submitted an objection letter to Director Ono and Ambassador Hashimoto on February 15. The letter states that, “There is serious doubt as to whether the training is such that it could not be carried out anywhere if not at the Naha Port Facility.” Vice Governor Jahana said, to Director Ono and Ambassador Hashimoto, that, “The expectation is that [citizens] will be shown that aircraft are flying in and gradually become accustomed to that situation, isn’t it? Citizens are worried that this situation will become permanent.”
The Marine Corps is flying aircraft such as Osprey vertical takeoff and landing transport aircraft into Naha Military Port for trainings such as “noncombatant evacuation” exercises. Ambassador Hashimoto expressed his acceptance of the objection from the OPG and agreed that it is possible to use ports as the locations for these noncombatant evacuation exercises. He also mentioned that he wants to convey his apprehension concerning the training at the Naha Port Facility to Tokyo.
Okinawa Prefecture announced February 17 that the cost of the damage caused by the large incursion of floating pumice stone caused by an undersea earthquake near the Ogasawara islands, based on the cost to collect and transport away the stone is expected to exceed 1.6 billion yen. These costs do not include the economic damage caused by fishing boats being unable to leave port, or damage to the marine leisure industry, so it is believed that the comprehensive economic impact will end up being far larger.
According to Okinawa Prefecture, the amount of pumice collected by the prefecture and the effected towns totals 29,209 cubic meters. As of February 10, the number of fishing boats that have decided to refrain from venturing out into the ocean has risen to 186 vessels, around 6.2% of Okinawa’s total commercial fishing fleet.
The largest cost factor in the total damages comes from the coastal cleanup efforts of the Okinawa Prefectural Civil Engineering and Construction Office, at just over 1 billion yen. Okinawa Prefecture indicates that based on the amount of pumice stone that washed ashore along the northern coast of Okinawa’s main island, the amount of stone that will need to be collected across all regions of Okinawa including the Sakishima Islands will total 102,000 cubic meters, and the budget was based on the expected costs of excavating and removing the stones.
At the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, work is underway on repairing the four fishing ports run by Okinawa Prefecture as well as the two run by municipalities, and this work is expected to cost around 109 million yen.
As for the damage this has caused to the fishing industry, the amount of fish caught in October and November of 2021 was around 290 tons less than the same amount that would have been caught over the same time period in a regular year, however other factors such as the coronavirus pandemic and the amount of natural resources available cannot be separated from this figure, which makes “calculating the total cost of damage difficult.”
As a measure for assisting the fishermen, Okinawa Prefecture as allocated in their 2021 draft budget revision financial aid totaling the fuel costs for 1 month for around 3,000 fishing boats. The operating costs for this are 180 million yen.
Kudaka Island, Nanjo – COVID-19 cases are increasing among the 220-person population of Kudaka Island in Chinen, Nanjo. According to a town representative, there were six new positive cases on the island on February 16, bringing the total number of cases since the start of February to 28 people. By February 17, the number of people who had been in close contact with someone who tested positive had surpassed 100 people. Local broadcasts are being used to ask residents to stay in their homes, and to ask tourists to refrain from coming to the island.
According to the representative, the majority of the coronavirus cases are mild and most patients are managing their symptoms at home. When asked about providing food to the patients in their homes, the representative said, “As of now, food isn’t an issue. The patients all have food that they’ve gathered in case of typhoons or the like. If the situation worsens, we will respond quickly.”
One resident who contracted COVID-19 says, “I got my third dose of the vaccine on the island on January 16. Since getting COVID, my only symptoms are a sore throat. I had next to no fever. Now I’m on my way to recovery.”
Kudaka Kaiun operates regular ferries to and from the island. Both the ferry and the high-speed ferry are operating normally, but the company has posted about the rising number of infections on Twitter, and asks visitors to refrain from coming to the island.
The algae farm just off the shores of Misaki, Kitanakagusuku, has welcomed peak asa (sea lettuce) season. On February 16, farmers flocked out to sea to harvest the asa they carefully cultivated.
The green crop is collected using a special net pulling machine, a task that will continue through March. Fumio Asato, 80, has cultivated asa for over 15 years; his recommended preparation of the sea lettuce includes tempura, soups, but best of all, in hirayachi (Okinawan savory pancakes).
Takamatsu Gushiken, who represents the war-dead remains recovery volunteer organization “Gamafuya,” has submitted a petition to the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly calling for the establishment of regulations to preserve the remains of those who died in war. In order to prevent the dissipation of these remains due to construction, he wants a system in place where the Okinawa governor would be notified ahead of time so it can be confirmed if any remains are present in the area proposed for development. In April, 2021, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly unanimously passed a written opinion demanding that, “the soil which contains the remains of those whose lives were regrettably lost in the Battle of Okinawa not be used for land-filling.” These regulations would be in line with the sentiment of the written opinion. We hope that the assembly with work to implement these regulations quickly.
The issue with the soil that potentially contains human remains came to the forefront when the design change form was submitted for improving the soft foundation of Oura Bay, the proposed site of the new military base in Henoko. At first, the plan was to procure soil from various regions throughout western Japan, but the change indicated that the soil would be procured from within Okinawa, and the area it would be procured from was expanded form just the northern part of the main island to all over the prefecture.
Upon hearing this news, Gushiken raised the alarm in opposition to this plan on humanitarian grounds, insisting that the excavation of ground that potentially contained the remains of people who died in the Battle of Okinawa was sacrilegious to both the deceased and their descendants, and developed a plan of action. In addition to demanding that the government call off their plan, he demanded the governor order a stop to the excavation plan in Itoman, engaging in a hunger strike and signature gathering campaign.
In response to the construction in Itoman, Governor Denny Tamaki ordered only that “necessary steps be taken to protect the landscape,” based on language in the Natural Parks Act, and explained that, “We have done everything we can do within the limits of our role as a prefecture.” He commented at the time, “It will be necessary to consider if we need to enact [additional] regulations, to ensure that we are enacting the best policy possible.” The governor should then be expected to meet the demands of this new petition.
The central Japanese government said the reason why they changed the area they would procure soil from was to avoid regulations that prevent the importing of soil from outside of Okinawa as a protection against the introduction of invasive species. In a column published by this newspaper on March 19, 2021, one descendant voiced the opinion, “So, it is not ok to introduce living things from elsewhere, but mixing in remains is ok?” It is something that would make anyone suspicious.
Gushiken maintains that the issue with the human remains is not an approval or disapproval of the new base construction, and stresses that this is a “humanitarian problem,” arguing that the origins of these remains come from all over Japan, making this a “nationwide issue.” Additionally, he has sent written requests to 1,743 municipal government assemblies in each prefecture, urging them to adopt the written opinion. According to Gushiken, to date a total of 206 municipal assemblies, 30 in Okinawa and 176 in other prefectures, have adopted the written opinion, and he expects this number to grow. The acknowledgement of this as a “humanitarian problem” and “national issue” continues to be pervasive.
The written opinion, which was passed unanimously by the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly, asks for, “the collection of war-dead remains, with the Japanese government taking the role as a leader.” They stressed that war, which is a national policy, created a large number of victims both within Japan and abroad. The document questions both the central and Okinawan governments how they will deal with the remains of the war-dead and their descendants.
Before thinking about how the regulations will affect new base construction, the Okinawa prefectural government and prefectural assembly need to consider the silent voices of the war-dead, as well as the voices of their descendants all over the country.
The Okinawa Industry Promotion Public Corporation’s Taipei office and the Heping Island Park in Keelung City, Taiwan, jointly organized the Gòng Dǎo Ji Okinawa Fair to promote cultural and economic exchange between Okinawa and Taiwan. The event, which is ongoing at Heping Island Park, promotes Okinawa tourism, and visitors may shop local products such as brown sugar and limited edition awamori.
The fair opened on December 25 last year and will run through February 28. Over 2,000 visitors, mostly locals, have visited the park as of January 28.
Previously known as Sheliao Island, Heping Island was home to a community of Okinawans pre-WWII, many of whom were fishermen from Miyako Island. Keelung and Miyako hold a sister city agreement based on this shared piece of history.
Chen Bao-You, director of the Taiwan office for a federation of Okinawan trading companies, commented, “We planned [this fair] to commemorate the Okinawans who lived on Heping Island. Through this event, we hope to promote cultural and economic exchange between the two regions.”
As of February 9, 206 city and town assemblies across Japan, around 10% of all such assemblies nation-wide, have adopted an official written opinion stating that ground from the southern part of Okinawa’s main island, which includes the remains of people who died in the Battle of Okinawa, should not be excavated for use in construction. This figure was tallied by the volunteer organization Gamafuya, which formed to help cover the remains of the war-dead and have been working to get the written opinion passed. Organization representative Takamatsu Gushiken said happily, “I did not think we would be able to get it so widely adopted.”
So far, the written opinion has been adopted by 30 local assemblies in Okinawa, and an additional 176 assemblies outside of the prefecture. There are also assemblies who are currently deliberating the statement, and it is expected that this number will increase further. Since learning that there was a plan to excavate and use this land for land reclamation in Henoko in July of last year, Gushiken has been writing assemblies around the country encouraging them to pass the written opinion. Attached with his letter is an account of the number of people who died in the battle from each prefecture, constructing the narrative that this issue affects the whole country, not just Okinawa.
On February 10, the Ueda Ugan (rice planting festival) was held at Ukinju Hainju in Hyakuna Tamagusuku in Nanjo, which is said to be the birthplace of rice cultivation in the Ryukyu Islands. The Ueda Ugan is a traditional event in Nakandakari, and participants pray for an abundant harvest and health. While listening to the sound of the pure spring water flowing from Ukinju Hainju, three men from Nakandakari planted rice and prayed for the year’s harvest to be bountiful.
The Ueda Ugan is held every year on the first day of the horse after the lunar new year. This year, the number of attendees was restricted and the festival was simplified to adapt to major measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Masanori Oshiro is a member of the Nakandakari rice producers’ association and participated in the planting. “This was my first time planting rice as part of the ceremony, so it was a very meaningful experience,” he says.
Kin – Gray wagtails are migrating to the fields of Kin for the winter. On January 24, wild bird enthusiast Chuya Yambaru captured an image on one that had stopped to rest on the side mirror of his car. Yambaru said, “I made friends with the bird in the fall of 2020, and named it ‘Ki-chan.’ I look forward to meeting her every year.”
The birds came to the taro fields of Kin in November of last year. This bird was one that approached the car when Yambaru visited on January 24. Around 20 centimeters in length, the bird is grey-brown along the back and bright yellow on the belly. The bird will wag its tail up and down while chirping “chi chi chi.” Known as a winter bird in Okinawa, they can be seen around water in places such as rivers, farmland, and ponds.
Webcam(Kokusai Street)
