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April 15, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
[Miyakojima Triathlon New Team] – The 35th All-Japan Triathlon Miyakojima (Hosted by Miyakojima City and the Ryukyu Shimpo News Corporation) took off from Yonoha Maehama Beach April 14, a 202.195 km race that includes a 3 km. swiming leg, a 157 km. cycling leg, and a 42.195 km running leg, ending at the Miyakojima City Athletic Field.
Naomi Washizu, 35, from Kanagawa, won the women’s race for a record 5th time with a time of 8 hours, 55 minutes, and 44 seconds. The men’s race was won by Kaito Tohara, 30, from Ibaraki, with a time of 7 hours, 55 minutes, and 43 seconds, taking back the title he had won in 2016.
The race drew 1,502 participants (1,275 men, 272 women). Of the total racers, there were 1,205 finishers (1,044 men, 161 women), a completion percentage of 80.2%. At noon on the day of the race in Miyakojima the weather was cloudy with a temperature of 26.0 ⁰C, a soft southeastern wind 3.8 meters/hour and 81% humidity.
(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)
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April 7, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
Yomitan—the War-Bereaved Families Association (represented by Norio Yonaha) held a memorial service at the Chibichiri Gama cave in Namihira for the 85 people who were forced to commit mass suicide on April 2, 1945, shortly after American troops landed on Okinawa’s main island during the Battle of Okinawa. Approximately 50 visitors, including bereaved families, gathered to honor the victims who took their lives 74 years ago.
The group renewed their pledge to pass down stories of the Battle of Okinawa and the importance of peace.
Families and friends gathered around 1 p.m. to clean up the cave, and made offerings of Okinawan food, flowers and incense to the deceased.
A woman who hid in the cave during the battle as a five-month-old baby used a towel to carefully polish the cenotaph bearing the names of the victims. Yohana’s brother, Tokuichi Yonaha, 76, visited from Tokeshi. They lost five family members including their maternal grandparents. Tokuichi brought his hands together and prayed in the Okinawan dialect: “the country is currently headed towards regaining its ability to fight wars. Help us from repeating the same mistakes.” The group joined, folding their hands in prayer. One visitor shed tears through closed eyes.
“What happened at Chibichiri Gama was a tragedy of war,” said Yonaha, and commented on the ongoing construction of the new base in Henoko, Nago City: “the Bereaved Families Association strongly oppose military installations, which leads to wars.” He pleaded that, “to ensure the deaths of our predecessors were not in vain, we must learn our lesson from history.”
Takuya Yamashiro, 33, leader of the Young Men’s Association of the Yomitan Workers Union, touched on the families’ sentiments and promised to “take what I’ve learned today and pass it down to the next generation with care,” and pledged to renounce the use of war.
(English translation by T&CT and Monica Shingaki)
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April 7, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Chikako Maemori
The Himeyuri Peace Museum in Itoman conducted field work at the battlefield that contained many of the casualties from the “Himeyuri Student Corps,” a corps of students that were mobilized to meet the need for medics during the Battle of Okinawa, alongside descendants of the student corps April 6.
As part of the 30-year anniversary of the opening of the museum, this is the first time the descendants have visited the site of the late World War II battlefield. There were 55 descendants in attendance, with ages ranging from 11 to 90 years old.
Following in their footsteps, they familiarized themselves with the area and thought about the family members they had lost.
The Himeyuri Students corps were comprised of female students from the Okinawa Shihan Women’s School and Okinawa Daiichi Women’s High School, and were led by their teachers during the Battle of Okinawa. Of the 240 women mobilized at the Okinawa Army Hospital, 136 were casualties. In addition, another 91 students from the two schools not included in the corps were also killed during the battle.
The field work on April 6 began at the location of the Shihan and Daiichi schoolhouses in Asato, Naha. The group traveled by bus on a route that stuck as close as possible to the route walked by the students after they were ordered to mobilize on March 23, 1945, ending at the remains of the Okinawa Army Hospital in Haebaru.
The group also visited Itokazu Abuchiragama in Tamagusuku, Nanjo, where the students were also mobilized.
“Do you know why the rock has turned black? It was scorched by the U.S. army’s assault.” At Abuchiragama, the voice of the museum’s guide, Akiko Nakata, could be heard echoing. In the dark cave, the descendants strained their eyes, headlamps affixed atop their heads.
In the afternoon, they met with five former students at the Himeyuri Peace Museum. In her opening remarks, Tomoka Futenma said, “I want to faithfully take the thoughts and experiences of both those who lived through this episode as well those who survived them, and continue to teach the importance of peace to many people from here on.”
From the participants, there were comments and questions for the former students such as, “I want to know what kind of people my relatives were,” and, “How did you do things like surgery in a cave as dark as that?”
Tsuru Motomura, 93, who was in her second year at Shihan when she was mobilized, said that since the completion of the museum she had been back to the battle site, but had not met with the families of the deceased.
“The things we were not able to do ourselves, were done by the next generation whom we entrusted these things to. Today, I am very thankful to be able to meet everyone.”
(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)
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April 8, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Junnichi Maeshiro
When the Ministry of Defense was still in the stage of planning to deploy a security force in Miyako, local residents demanded that missiles not be stored at the deployment site. In response, the Ministry of Defense continually told residents that they would not deploy munitions at the site, but it recently came to light that mid-range multipurpose missiles, mortars, and other armaments are being stored at a storage vault there.
In response to the issue coming to light, Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya issued an apology during his attendance at a force flag presentation ceremony on April 7, saying, “Our explanation was insufficient.” However, backlash from local residents is increasing. The local councils in Chiyoda and Nobaru, villages adjacent to the base, had adopted a stance of effectively accepting the force deployment with certain conditions such as that regional revitalization measures be implemented. However, since non-storage of munitions was a premise for their acceptance, many residents are expressing bewilderment and anger at the current revelation.
On the night of April 4, the Okinawa Defense Bureau held an information session for residents of Chiyoda. The Defense Bureau merely apologized over and over, providing no specific responses to residents’ questions, and the two sides came to no mutual understanding. Residents who attended the session made comments such as “the condition precedent [to the deployment] has come undone” and “they did not do as they promised.” No information session has been held yet in Nobaru, but backlash is likely to occur.
In addition, it also came to light that the base grounds may be used as a takeoff and landing spot for helicopters during times of emergency.
The Ministry of Defense has not agreed to residents’ request that helipads not be set up at the base.
Can the defense minister’s alleged “thorough explanation” really erase residents’ concerns and doubts about the safety of their daily lives?
The government’s fundamental handling of the situation is being called into question now that the premise for local acceptance of the force deployment has come unraveled.
(English translation by T&CT and Sandi Aritza)
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On April 5, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Keiichi Ishii accepted the Ministry of Defense (MOD) Okinawa Defense Bureau’s (ODB’s) formal objection to the Okinawa Prefectural Government’s (OPG’s) revocation of the land reclamation permit for construction of the Futenma Replacement Facility (FRF) in Henoko, Nago City.
Ishii announced that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has decided to annul the OPG revocation as illegal.
The ODB is expected to put the land reclamation permit back in effect upon receiving notice of the annulment. In response, the OPG is considering legal countermeasures to restore the efficacy of its permit revocation, including requesting that the Committee for Settling National-Local Disputes review the MLIT decision again.
Minister Ishii said, “We decided there was no reason for the revocation.”
Concerning the MLIT’s decision, Governor Denny Tamaki made the comment, “There is absolutely no reason for annulling [the revocation of the land reclamation permit].
The Okinawan people are unshaken, and will respond with strong resolve.” He also criticized the MLIT’s decision about the ODB’s formal objection, saying, “It is as though a team’s player is also the referee.
[The Japanese government] is putting on an act around reaching its own prearranged conclusion.”
One reason the OPG cited for revocation of the permit is the existence of soft ground on the Oura Bay side of the construction area. However, the MLIT has submitted documents to and requested an expert opinion on this matter from Professor Emeritus Osamu Kusakabe of Tokyo Institute of Technology (and president of the International Press-in Association) who specializes in geotechnology.
Land reclamation progress in Henoko, Nago City as of 11:47 a.m. on March 13 (Photograph taken via small drone)[/caption]Professor Kusakabe’s opinion to the MLIT stated: (1) the [ground] improvement method selected is appropriate and its execution is feasible, (2) it is feasible that the seawalls at the land reclamation site will ensure necessary stability, as is the work planned on the land reclamation site, (3) the brief analysis on changes to environmental impact that will come with conducting ground improvement is adequate.
Since all of its claims were accepted, the ODB, which requested the review, did not lodge inquiries with the Administrative Complaint Review Board.
The MLIT’s stay of execution, which temporarily removed the effects of the OPG’s revocation, is no longer in force due to the decision. Also, the lawsuit brought against the OPG on March 22 challenging former governor Nakaima’s approval of the land reclamation permit, has consequently been nullified.
In order to counter the MLIT’s decision, the OPG has two options: (1) request a decision from the Committee for Settling National-Local Disputes, or (2) file a lawsuit based on the Administrative Case Litigation Act, challenging the decision through one of two methods.
Method (1) would be for the prefectural governor to potentially file a lawsuit in his name within 30 days. As for method (2), a lawsuit would need to be filed within 6 months based on the Administrative Litigation Act, and a Prefectural Assembly vote would be necessary.
The OPG plans to get a written resolution from the Prefectural Assembly, and then discuss how to handle the case with a team of lawyers.
(English translation by T&CT and Erin Jones)
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April 2, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
On April 1, Meio University President Katsunori Yamazato announced that the university would start an editing and publishing project for the “Compendium of Ryukyu Literature,” which is to have notes and explanations in combination with the original text.
It will be organized in three categories, which are literature, history, and folklore/topography.
It will have a total of 35 volumes and it is estimated that each volume will be about 450 pages (in A5 paper size). The plan is to publish about 500 copies at a time.
The university aims to also coordinate with major publishing companies to publicize this in and outside of Okinawa.
According to a representative of Meio University, in the 120 years or so of Ryukyu literature research, this will be the first project to systematically organize Ryukyu literature as a whole.
This will make it easier not just for researchers, but also for ordinary people who are interested in Ryukyu literature to understand the material.
A total of 24 experts from in and outside of the university plan to contribute. In addition to involving young researchers for the editing process, the hope is to also train the next generation.
The plan is to use a total budget of about 150-million yen to complete this project in the next 12 years between 2019 and 2030.
President Yamazato, who is serving as the Honorary Chairman for the Editing and Publishing Committee, Editing and Publishing Chairman Eikichi Hateruma, and committee members responsible for editing held a press conference on the same day at Meio University.
President Yamazato reiterated that, “There is a sense of urgency that this needs to be done now or never.
We hope that this could serve and remain as the cultural foundation even 100 years into the future.” Editing and Publishing Chairman Hateruma said, “For example, Kanbun used in Chinese literary classics is now a language only understood by a small group of scholars (while ordinary people are unable to decipher it).
We hope to make these into something even ordinary people can pick up and read by adding notes and explanations.”
This project commemorates Meio University’s 25th anniversary and 10th anniversary for being a part of the Municipal University Corporation.
It also commemorates establishing a doctoral program for the International and Regional Cultures major at the graduate school.
(English translation by T&CT and Chelsea Ashimine)
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April 4, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
A Taiwanese couple that prematurely went into labor while on honeymoon in Okinawa, giving birth to Chen Chun-hon, 2, who weighed only 884 grams (1.94 lbs.) at birth, have returned to Okinawa to say thank you and to show their healthy child. The childbirth and subsequent healthcare was not covered by their travel insurance, and that in addition to other hospital fees ended up totaling over 8 million yen, much more than they could afford, however Okinawans, Taiwanese living abroad, and other all pitched in to raise round 21 million yen to cover the expenses. The parents had words of gratitude for the people of Okinawa, saying, “We cannot possibly thank everyone enough. Thanks to everyone’s warm support, we are able to live as a family.”
The parents, Chi-lun, 25, and Li-shan, 22, who live in Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, were on their honeymoon in Okinawa March 29, 2017. The following day, Shan’s water broke despite being in only her seventh month of pregnancy, and the couple raced to Okinawa Kyodo Hospital in Naha. After the baby was measured weighing less than 1,500 grams, the baby was transported to the island’s only premature baby specialty care unit at the Nanbu Medical Center’s Child Medical Center. The parents stayed at the Gajumaru House, which takes in parents of sick children from distant islands and the northern regions of Okinawa.
Chun-hon turned 2 on March 30, and has grown to 85 cm. in height and 12 kg in weight. Chi-lun says “He is healthy, but has so much energy,” saying that he will say “Moshi-moshi” when he hears his name, and will run around on the lawn with rambunctious energy.
The previous trip was a honeymoon put on hold by a birth. For this trip, the family of three plans to enjoy Okinawa a bit while also going to thank everyone that helped them two years prior. Li-Shan said while holding Chun-hon, “I want him to study in Japan to be a doctor. Health is the most important thing.”
(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)
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April 2, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
As part of construction of the Futenma Replacement Facility (FRF) in Henoko, Nago City, the Okinawa Defense Bureau’s construction of the K8 seawall off the shore of Camp Schwab is ongoing as of April 2.
Soil has been deposited into land reclamation sections 2 and 2-1.
Seven canoes went out on Henoko Bay in the vicinity of the K8 seawall to protest its construction. One of the canoe protestors, Noboru Takeno, 71, of Shizuoka Prefecture, criticized the Japanese government for forcing through construction of the FRF in Okinawa.
Takeno said, “The construction only discriminates against Okinawa. As a human of the mainland I cannot allow it.”
Akutagawa Prize-winning author Shun Medoruma, 58, explained why he continues to protest. He said, “It gets worse the longer construction doesn’t stop, so I will protest diligently. No one is doing it because they enjoy it.”
Citizens staged a sit-in protest in front of a Camp Schwab gate as trucks came through the gate at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. hauling materials.
(English translation by T&CT and Erin Jones)
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April 4, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
On February 26, the USFJ Okinawa Area Coordinator Lt. Gen. Eric Smith greatly loosened the restrictions of the Liberty Policy, which regulates the activities of U.S. troops when they are off-duty. Local residents of municipalities in the central part of Okinawa Island, where many U.S. servicemen and civilians employed by the military live, say they “cannot understand” the decision and are cautioning that there will be more incidents and accidents.
People who expect activity in the area to increase are warning that U.S. servicemen are expected to observe the law. However, Marines stationed in Okinawa and persons involved with the bases are welcoming the change.
There is a marked difference between how the U.S. troops and local citizens feel about this development.
In the afternoon on April 3 Sato Gushikata, 28, a housewife living in Chatan Town, visited the town’s American Village which is popular with U.S. servicemen and local citizens alike.
She expressed empathy with U.S. soldiers, saying, “The U.S. servicemen are like us; outside of business hours they must want to be free to enjoy themselves.
” Yet in regard to when military base personnel are seen at night, drinking at restaurants in the area and talking loudly, she said that, “With or without regulations, that is an issue of morality.
” She brought up that, “While there is clamoring about removing the military bases, more than that I want [military base personnel] to never do things that will anger or frighten Okinawan citizens.”
Lodging restrictions placed on the area south of Camp Kinser in Urasoe City in 2016 have been lifted, and there, too, people are voicing concerns about this alleviation.
The restrictions were put in place after incidents including one in March 2016 in which a woman, a tourist from mainland Japan, was raped by a U.S. serviceman who was staying at a Naha City hotel after a night of drinking. Sachiko Matayoshi, 70, a resident of Naha City, said, “The fundamental problem is that U.S. bases are concentrated on Okinawa.
If, as they say, Okinawa is a part of Japan, the whole country should bear the burden fairly.”
There is an English radio commerical on the American Forces Network (AFN) that is broadcast many times per day and is targeted toward military personnel in Okinawa.
It tells its listeners not to drive if they have consumed even one drop of an alcoholic beverage, and strives to make it common knowledge that Japan’s drinking and driving regulations are much stricter than those in the United States.
It also encourages base personnel, as one option, to use proxy driving services available in Okinawa. It appears that the U.S. military, too, considers soldiers’ drunk driving a serious matter.
On the weekend US soldiers stand out on Okinawa City’s Gate Street.
On April 3 the base personnel were sparse on Gate Street, and patrol vehicles with blue lights drove about.
One 71-year-old independent business man who travels along Gate Street every morning and evening spoke about the alleviation of the Liberty Policy.
He said, “I cannot accept it. If there are more incidents and accidents, I think the policy will just be made strict again.
The fundamental rules should be made strict before someone is hurt, and the Status of Forces Agreement and such things should be changed.”
(English translation by T&CT and Erin Jones)
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March 27, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Takahiro Miyagi
On March 27, it will have been 140 years since the Kingdom of Ryukyu was destroyed in 1879. Matsuda Michiyuki, the bureaucrat who abolished the Ryukyu Domain, entered Shuri castle accompanied by around 600 soldiers from the Kumamoto Garrison (of the Japanese Imperial Army) and armed police, and delivered to Ryukyuan King Sho Tai the official notice of the abolition of feudal domains and the establishment of prefectures. With the backing of the military power of the Japanese government Ryukyu was annexed (the Disposition of Ryukyu) with the surrender of Shuri Castle, and Okinawa Prefecture was established. Many people who talk about the right of self-determination in Okinawa and the U.S. base problems say things like “Through the new base construction at Henoko… Japanese colonialism in Japan continues since (the annexation) 140 years ago.”
Yuzo Takayama, 34, who posted an independent movie about the base problem on YouTube indicated, “Japan uses Okinawa as it pleases, their disrespect of the people there can be seen in the new base construction at Henoko.”
House of Representatives member Kantoku Teruya points to the time when he asked about the pre-annexation political status of Okinawa prior to the annexation and did not receive a clear answer from the government. “From the standpoint of international law, the manner of annexation was ridiculous. [Japanese colonialism in Okinawa] can been seen in through Japan’s use of the Administrative Appeal Act in the new base dispute.”
Shinako Oyakawa ,38, co-leader of The Association of Comprehensive Studies for Independence of the Lew Chewans (ACSILs) says, “The government definitely takes a different attitude towards Okinawa than it does for other regions. Colonialism continues 140 years later. It is important for us to take these human rights problems to the international community. In the Treaty of San Francisco, Okinawa was separated from Japan. This was called the “2nd Disposition of Okinawa.”
Chihiro Uchimura ,74, director of the Fukutsu-Kan, a museum that exhibits materials related to Okinawan politician Kamejiro Senaga, said that under U.S. rule, the people of Okinawa split into progressives and conservatives, and that, “From the infighting, [democratic] power was weakened. It broke the heart of Kamejiro, who had somehow previously unified everyone. Now, governance is even more iron-fisted than when we were under U.S. rule. We should remember the struggle of that time, and band together as Okinawans.”
(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)
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April 2, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
The Japanese imperial era naming system has drawn attention recently, as the name “Reiwa” was chosen as the name of the new era that will follow Heisei. In Okinawa, there was a time when both the Chinese and the Japanese imperial era names were used. That period lasted roughly 300 years. “The imperial era naming system is closely connected to the monarch’s control over time,” says University of the Ryukyus professor Kazuyuki Tomiyama, who specializes in Ryukyuan history.
The imperial naming system originates from China, where “Jianyuan” (roughly 140 to 135 BC) in the Former Han Dynasty was the first imperial era to be named. Thereafter, the imperial naming system was adopted in Japan, Vietnam, and the Korean peninsula. In Japan, “Taika” and subsequent eras were named in accordance with the Japanese emperor system.
In Okinawa, the Chinese imperial era names were primarily used after the Ryukyu Kingdom entered into a tributary relationship with Ming China. According to Professor Tomiyama, the imperial era names were familiar to people at all levels of society in the Ryukyu Kingdom, which had long used the Chinese calendar.
Meanwhile, after the Ryukyu Kingdom was invaded by Japan’s Satsuma Domain in 1609 and fell under its control, the Japanese imperial era names came into use in consideration of interactions with the Edo government, but the Chinese imperial era names continued to be used primarily. In Sho Dynasty literature, Chinese imperial era names are written first, followed by the Japanese imperial name or “Japanese calendar year.”
The situation changed, however, after Japan’s Meiji government took over and set up the Ryukyu Domain. As a result of the 1879 “Ryukyu Disposition,” Chinese imperial era names disappeared from official documents. The Chinese imperial era names continued to be used in general society even after, but their popularity decreased after Qing China lost the First Sino-Japanese War, and they eventually fell out of use.
“In East Asia, the Chinese imperial era names were used primarily, and the Japanese imperial era names were used for interactions with Satsuma,” says Professor Tomiyama. “People tend to imagine that society is reset with every change of the imperial era, but actually the imperial era naming system is closely connected to the monarch’s control over time.”
(English translation by T&CT and Sandi Aritza)
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