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 factors such as a high water temperature and insufficient sunlight, as well as poor ocean conditions.
The Katsuren Fishery Cooperative Association (KFCA), the largest mozuku producer in Okinawa, increased the 2018 price-per-kilo for mozuku by 100 yen to 300 as a result of the poor harvest.
KFCA president Yuko Uehara said, “This is the first time in 20 years that the price has risen to 300 yen per kilo.”
The current period’s mozuku cultivation was low as crops did not replenish after an early harvest in the previous period (March). According to the Okinawa Fisheries Oceanography Research Center, during the mozuku growing period from November through December, the water temperature was about 2-4 degrees higher than the previous year at 26 degrees Celsius, reaching as high as 28 degrees on some days.
Mozuku grows best in water that is 25 degrees or lower, so it is thought that the higher water temperatures created unfavorable growing conditions.
The Katsuren region, which prices itself as Japan’s top mozuku grower, is projecting a mozuku yield of 5,000-6,000 tons for the current period.
For comparison, in 2018 the same period yielded 8,273 tons. KFCA president Uehara commented, “This year’s harvest is particularly poor compared to the previous year.”
The KFCA set per-kilo prices at 200 yen in March. Due to the poor harvest, the intermediaries that mozuku from fishermen set prices at 250 yen, so the KFCA raised prices to 300 yen. Uehara worried, “As a producer, a price over 150 yen is fine, but an increase of this amount will effect consumer prices.
If the price is high in the super market, consumers will stop purchasing it. Since mozuku is a mass-market item, it cannot be priced like a luxury.”
The Okinawa Fisheries Oceanography Research Center’s ocean resources and aquafarming division’s head researcher Shinobu Kondo said, “It is necessary to develop a strain of mozuku that will not experience crop instability even in warmer water.
We would like to find high grade plants out in the ocean, and develop a strain that we can offer to growers.”
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 experiences with love and marriage, she also candidly writes about her miscarriage.
She also incorporates subjects, such as the existence of the current U.S. military bases and her grandfather’s experience during the Battle of Okinawa. Chibana’s grandfather was a survivor of the Geruma Island forced mass suicide.
On June 29, there was a book launch event at the Kinokuniya Main Bookstore in Shinjyuku, Tokyo.
Chibana said, “I was moved and amazed by how I had found a place where I could be so free after finding tanka and really got into it.
There’s a me that can be free as much as I want in a small world comprised of just 31 syllables.
I’m excited to see how Okinawan people will feel about my songs and react to them.” With her expecting to become a mother this fall in mind, she opened the prospective of a next anthology.
There are also songs on the situation of countries she visited as a Japanese Ambassador from the United Nations World Health Program (WFP), namely Africa, the Middle East, and Asian countries, all of which have issues with poverty and food shortage. ]
Her “Scales of a Nile Perch,” which was awarded the Kadokawa Tanka Award in 2017 is also included.
Her songs related to Okinawa are on the Battle of Okinawa and the U.S. military bases.
The songs read, “If there are no hand grenades, then you’ll encounter strangling via thin green grass at the forest where kids play,” “Rays of komorebi fall on my grandfather’s back who cries, ‘I’m sorry I’m alive,’” “Go under the wire-netting of the school grounds and you’ll find Sago palm and empty shell cases trailing to the mountain behind.”
Poet Kazuhiro Nagata, who corresponds with Chibana on tanka provided commentary.
Poet Machi Tawara provided the endorsement for the book’s obi, or wraparound band.
The cover photograph was done by Kishin Shinoyama.
The anthology is 200 pages and is 1600-yen including taxes.
(English translation by T&CT and Chelsea Ashimine)
The Makishi Public Market has re-opened on July 1, at its temporary location in Matsuo, Naha City, at a town square formerly known as the Nigiwai Hiroba. The temporary market houses 84 shops inside a two-story prefabricated building situated on a 1970-square-meter lot. Shop owners and local residents gathered at the opening ceremony held on July 1, and celebrated the opening of the market’s transitory new home. Endearingly referred to as “Okinawa’s kitchen,” the market attracted a large crowd to the temporary location on opening day, and bustled with just as much activity as the old market. The current site will serve the shop keepers and shoppers until the new market opens its doors in 2022.
Tomomitsu Aguni, President of the Makishi Public Market Association, and Naha City Mayor Mikiko Shiroma cut the tape during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The market is used not only by local shoppers, but welcomes plenty of tourists as well. Mayor Shiroma shared her hopes for the market’s role as a tourist destination, and invited more to visit: “[This location] has retained the warmhearted atmosphere of the [old] market. I hope we receive many guests.”
The temporary market is located at the former Nigiwai Hiroba, 100 meters northwest of the old market. Shops offering seafood, meats, pickles, and other food items can be found on the first floor; eateries are located on the second floor. Some customers were seen enjoying the same “carry-up” service the old market offered, in which food items purchased on the first floor is cooked and served in the dining hall upstairs.
Urasoe City resident, Narie Komiya, 56, is a regular from the old market. She purchased Okinawan style pork belly and sliced pork meat for ginger pork. “It’s fresh and well-priced. They teach you how to cook it too.” She laughed and said, “maybe they should stay at this location, it’s bright and clean.” Long-established Hirata’s Pickles has been in business since before the Makishi Public Market opened. Its 29-year-old shopkeeper, Fumiya Tamaki, said, “We drew a large crowd for opening day, but we have to think about how to maintain this traffic. Maybe we organize some events,” and pointed out the need to keep the market alive.
The children were passing out milk for school lunch, when suddenly they were bombarded by thunderous noise and balls of fire. It has been 60 years since a U.S. military jet crashed into Miyamori Elementary School in Ishikawa City (now Uruma), killing 18 people and injuring another 210.
Even though this was an accident due to human error, the cause was concealed, and the compensation after the accident was insufficient. It was an accident symbolic of Okinawa under U.S. control, where the value of the lives of residents were taken lightly. We must continue to tell these kinds of absurd episodes of Okinawa’s post-war history.
The plane crash occurred on June 30, 1959. A U.S. military F-100 jet from Kadena Air Base fell into a residential neighborhood of Ishikawa, with the plane bouncing off the ground on impact and crashing into Miyamori Elementary School. There were 12 students among the victims. The pilot ejected and was unharmed in the incident.
The reaction by the U.S. military after the incident was extremely dishonest. The military announced that the cause of the incident was, “a Force Majeure caused by a part breakdown.” However, afterward in the accident report put together by the U.S. Air Force indicated that the accident’s, “main cause was a mistake during maintenance,” concluding that the accident was caused by human error. Despite the insufficient maintenance the crew chief deemed the plane flight-worthy, and during the flight the here was a fuel leak, causing an engine fire.
Ever since the early stages of development, the F-100 warplane was plagued by accidents and dubbed “defective,” losing 47 pilots in crashes over is operational lifespan. However, the fact that the plane was faulty was never explained to the people of Okinawa. Thankfully, details about the accident were compiled by the Ishikawa Miyamori 630 non-profit organization, which collected data from the U.S. military as well as testimonials.
This incident of 60 years ago was by no means an outlier. From the time Okinawa was reverted to Japanese control through today, accidents involving U.S. military aircraft have happened one after another, and nothing has changed about a structure that gives birth to tragedy.
On June 4 of this year, a plastic sheet attached to the wing of a U.S. helicopter fell onto a junior high school in Urasoe. After the accident, training flights were resumed before an investigation into the cause of the accident was announced, with aircraft continuing to fly over the school. For the incident at the preschool, they admitted that the part belonged to the U.S. military, but insisted that it had not dropped.
Also, when the MV-22 Ospreys were deployed to MCAS Futenma, the Ministry of Defense explained, “This model has a lower accident rate than others. As the plane is flown more, the accident rate decreases. However, the Class A (major) mishap rate per 100,000 flight hours dramatically increase from 1.65 in 2012 to 2.85 in 2018. The crash in Abu, Nago City in 2016 is fresh in people’s memories.
Have neither the Japanese nor U.S. governments learned anything from the tragedy at Miyamori Elementary? The live of Okinawans continue to be put in danger.
June 30 marked the 60th anniversary of the 1959 crash of a U.S. military jet from Kadena Air Base onto Miyamori Elementary School and the residential district of Ishikawa, Uruma City (Ishikawa City at the time), which killed 18 elementary school pupils. Starting at 9:30 a.m. on June 30 this year there was a gathering for the bereaved families, and a memorial ceremony held by the Ishikawa Miyamori 630 Association at the elementary school. Many people came to express their condolences.
First, flowers and the burning of incense were offered in front of the Nakayoshi Jizo memorial monument. Bereaved familiy members, local residents, and related persons from Uruma City and wider Okinawa prayed for the victims of the crash. They prayed for peace and for such an accident to never occur again.
Next, participants were ushered from the monument to the school gymnasium for the memorial ceremony. At around 10:40 a.m., the time of the crash sixty years prior, everyone offered prayers once more. After that, Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki and Uruma City Mayor Toshio Shimabukuro delivered addresses.
On June 28, Osaka-based Peach Aviation resumed its Naha-to-Hong-Kong flight, which had been out of operation for one year and eight months. There will be one flight per day each day of the week. To celebrate the resumption of operation, CEO Shinichi Inoue and others passed out stickers and other goods to 130 passengers on the first flight out.
Previously, the flight ran three or four times a week, but the company stopped its operation to use the planes for other routes in order to improve efficiency. It resumed operation of the route after acquiring more planes and becoming able to use a spot at Hong Kong International Airport as a result of its merger with Vanilla Air. The company now has five routes connecting Okinawa with overseas countries.
“Okinawa will be a bridge to the rest of Asia. We plan to continue adding more routes,” CEO Inoue.
June 23, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
Correspondent Celso Akihide Shiroma
On June 9, Brazil’s People of Okinawa Prefecture Association Youth Division and Urizun Okinawa Prefecture Foreign Exchange Student Trainee OB Association hosted a joint symposium at the People of Okinawa Prefecture headquarters. During the symposium, two young men shared their experiences of overcoming hardship, namely moving to a foreign country at a young age due to their parents’ work and encountering language and cultural differences. A total of 36 people, young and old, attended and gave a round of applause to the two young men who “want to help those in need.”
One of the speakers was 27-year-old Renan Eiji Teruya, who was born in Brazil, but then came to Japan when he was about seven-years-old with his mother, due to his mother’s work. In 2017, he became the first Japanese-Brazilian to pass the bar exam. He is a third-generation Okinawan descendant from Okinawa City. The Urizun Association invited him.
Kevin Ryuji Kuniyoshi performing “Asadoya Yunta” using the sanshin.
The other speaker was 23-year-old Kevin Ryuji Kuniyoshi who was born in Japan, but moved back to his parent’s hometown Brazil when he was seven-years-old. He’s currently majoring in International Relations at the Federal University of ABC. He is a third-generation Okinawan descendant from Yomitan Village. The Youth Division invited him.
Likewise, 22-year-old Bruna Higa, a third-generation descendant from Kitanakagusuku Village, of the Youth Division acted as the facilitator, while Urizun Association President Luzia Miyuki Teruya, a third-generation Okinawan descendant from Naha City, acted as Mr. Teruya’s interpreter.
The commonality between the two speakers is that they both moved to a foreign country in which they could not speak the local language as a result of moving with their parents. Also, both struggled in school and endured being bullied when they were young.
During junior high school, people around Teruya told him, “You’re stupid, don’t get good grades, and a foreigner, so you can’t become a lawyer.” There was even an instance where a classmate who did not like beans moved them to Teruya’s plate during lunch and said, “Eat more, you Brazillian.”
After being inspired by a TV show he watched in elementary school, Teruya decided to become a “lawyer that helps people.” Becoming aware of his resolve to advance to law school, Teruya’s high school homeroom teacher supported him. Teruya advanced to law school and later passed the bar exam. In college, he became aware that foreigners’ rights are limited, so he wants to be able to support those in need so they do not have to give up on their dreams.
When Kuniyoshi attended the World Uchinanchu Festival, he was inspired by sculptor Minoru Kinjyo’s remark, “You are the bridge between Okinawa and Brasil.” Kuniyoshi spoke of majoring in International Relations and wanting to help foreigners in need after graduating. During the entertainment portion of the symposium, he played the sanshin and performed “Nanyou Kouta” and “Asadoya Yunta.”
(English translation by T&CT and Chelsea Ashimine)
The Himeyuri Peace Museum (Itoman) marked their 30th anniversary June 23, and around 350 of the former students and their descendants held a memorial service at the Himeyuri tower. The members of the student corps that survived the Battle of Okinawa are now in their 90’s. Former museum director Yoshiko Shimabukuro, 91, commented on her expectations for the museum staff from the post-war generation, saying, “The museum is a stronghold for peace, as well as for life. I hope that you all continue to say ‘War is not an option.’”
For the past 30 years, the former students told the story of the experiences Himeyuri corps, speaking of the tragedies of war and the path for peace. “It did not feel like a long time ago. Even now the memories of racing around the battlefield still float to my mind as if it were yesterday, or the day before yesterday.
These words from Tsuru Motomura, 94, who served in the same student corps, show clearly the deep cuts in her soul from the defeat at the Battle of Okinawa.
This year’s memorial service had for the first time greetings, opening remarks, and closing remarks all given by museum employees. Motomura gave a vote of confidence for those who would take up the torch in their wake, saying, “In my 10 years (working here) with you, you have all learned the true meaning of peace and life. I think you will be able to tell others my thoughts in my place.”
Current museum director Chokei Futenma, 59, who is taking the baton from the group of storytellers, promised, “We will pass on these thoughts, which have had such importance since the opening of the museum, to the next generation.”
Kaiya Yonamine, a second-generation Okinawan-American high school student living in Portland, Oregon, completed a documentary titled “Our Island’s Treasure”. Her intent is to communicate the issues surrounding construction of the Futenma Replacement Facility in Henoko, Nago City, to the United States and the world. In March this year Yonamine visited Okinawa, recording the situation in Henoko and the thoughts of Uchinanchu who oppose the FRF construction. She included messages from young people of the United States and Okinawa, using English and Japanese subtitles to convey their messages. Yonamine distributed her call for action, “Rise for Henoko,” over the internet and social media.
In August last year Yonamine participated in a protest demonstration in front of Camp Schwab with her Naha-born mother, Moe, 41. Yonamine fully recognized the disconnect between Henoko, where soil is being dumped into the richly biodiverse ocean and people who experienced war adhere to their protest demonstrations with grieving hearts, and the United States, where there is a striking deficiency of information on Okinawa. She decided to make “Our Island’s Treasure” in order to convey the current circumstances in Okinawa and make connections with young people bridging national borders.
One scene from Kaiya Yonamine’s documentary “Our Island’s Treasure” with Japanese subtitles
The documentary is about 30 minutes long, and it starts off with scenes of Yonamine asking her American high school friends, “What do you know about Henoko?” Additionally, she gathered the following types of questions from American high school students: “How do the bases in Okinawa impact you?” “How do you feel about the destruction [in Henoko]?” and “What message do you have for American youth in this fight for Henoko?”
Throughout the documentary Okinawans answered the Americans’ questions in interviews, including Okinawans in their teens and 20s, Henoko resident Fumiko Shimabukuro, and Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki. The film also addresses the history of the Ryukyu Kingdom and the Battle of Okinawa, the construction of U.S. military bases in the postwar period, and the overlarge share of the military base burden on Okinawa.
One scene from “Our Island’s Treasure” with English subtitles
Yonamine said, “I want to bring American high school students and young Okinawans together, and create a method to expand consciousness about this crisis.”
On June 26 at the Okinawa City Civic Center, the late Hisashi Inoue’s theater troop performed his original play “Ki no Ue no Guntai (Army on the Tree)”, depicting the Battle of Okinawa. The Ryukyu Shimpo and the Okinawa City Cultural Development Consortium jointly hosted the performance, with special support from the plaintiff group of the third Kadena base noise lawsuit. June 26 was this performance’s opening night in Okinawa.
The plot is based on a true story about two soldiers who were hiding in a tree on Iejima, still unaware that the war had ended. Atsushi Yamanishi, Kohei Matsushita, and Okinawa-born singer Kaori Futenma acted in the play, and Minami Udo played the viola. After the play, Futenma said, “I felt the Uchinanchu’s desire for peace from up onstage.”
A woman in her 50s who attended from Naha City explained her experience: “U.S. military aircraft noise drowned out the Uchinaguchi nursery song sung by Ms. Futenma, aptly representing Okinawa today.”
There is a photographic special feature coming to the paper’s Entertainment page on July 5.
At the Okinawa Memorial Day ceremony on June 23, Governor Denny Tamaki gave a speech mixing Uchinaguchi (Okinawan language) and English with his Japanese, expressing opposition to the construction of a new base in Henoko, and calling for revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement. Each of Governor Tamaki’s statements drew applause from the audience. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in his speech, discussed reducing the burden of military bases on Okinawa and advancing measures to stimulate the economy, but made no mention of the new base construction in Henoko. While he spoke, some audience members shouted “Go home!” and “Liar!” in Uchinaguchi. The response to his speech stood in marked contrast with that to the governor’s speech.
One attendee, Hisao Uema, age 68, of Motobu, said, “Rather than just pretense, I’d like to see [Abe] show an attitude of empathy towards Okinawans and utilize it in his politics.” Mami Kamiya, age 38, of Tomigusuku, who attended with her family, responded coolly to the prime minister’s speech, saying, “The government is belittling the views of Okinawans by ignoring the result of the prefectural referendum.” Yuri Aguni of Urasoe, age 18 and a first-year student at Okinawa University, gave the prime minister’s speech a wary eye, saying, “It did not resonate with me. I feel that his visit to Okinawa is itself a performance.”
Journalist Daisuke Tsuda, age 45, who has been covering the ceremony every year since 2015, said that the prime minister’s speech “is bound to rub Okinawans, who are calling for dialogue, the wrong way.” He added, “I think the central government should squarely face the Okinawan people.”
Webcam(Kokusai Street)
