Tag - okinawa

 
 

OKINAWA

People walk toward a beach in Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2024
Blackstone buys Ritz-Carlton Okinawa as Japan tourism booms
The transaction will include the Kanehide Kise Beach Palace and money to be spent on renovations, sources say.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (left) meets with Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki at the Okinawa Prefectural Government Office on Sunday.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2024
Okinawa governor seeks timetable for transfer of U.S. marines
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki on Sunday called on the government to provide a concrete timetable for the transfer of U.S. Marines in Okinawa to Guam, following the recent start of the relocation.
U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, in 2021
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2024
U.S. Marines begin to relocate from Okinawa to Guam
The movement of troops comes 19 years after an initial agreement for the relocation by the governments of Japan and the U.S.
The Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture. Brennon Washington was stationed at the base when he abducted a minor on Dec. 24, 2023.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 13, 2024
U.S. serviceman sentenced over sexual assault of underage girl in Okinawa
Brennon Washington persuaded the girl to get into his car under the pretense of cooking and watching a movie together at his home. Once there, he assaulted her.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (center) receives an award in Naha on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 6, 2024
Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts honored by city of Naha
Roberts, who was born in the city, was presented the award by Mayor Satoru Chinen on Thursday.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova at a news conference in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, in June
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2024
Russia says it will respond if U.S. places missiles in Japan
A report on Sunday said that Japan and the U.S. aim to compile a joint military plan for a possible Taiwan emergency that includes deploying missiles.
A U.S. Marine Corps M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and a Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Missile (12SSM) system are put on display at a symposium at a base in Kisarazu, Japan, in June 2022.
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2024
Japan and U.S. to form missile plan in case of Taiwan emergency
Under the plan, the U.S. would deploy missile units to the Nansei Islands in Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures, as well as the Philippines.
Ground Self-Defense Force vehicles during training in Yokohama on Oct. 17
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2024
Human error behind Osprey accident on remote Japan island: GSDF
During Japan-U.S. joint exercises on Oct. 27, the Osprey keeled over when taking off from a GSDF camp in Yonaguni, and the left wing touched the ground and was damaged.
Operators respond to telephone directory inquiries from Tokyo at a call center in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, in October 1997.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Nov 11, 2024
As NTT ends its Dial 104 service, Okinawa's call centers look elsewhere
Naha and Nago were home to Japan's biggest call center operations, receiving around 125,000 calls a day at their peak in 1999.
A Level 4 warning for heavy rain — the second most severe out of five levels was issued for the northern part of Okinawa Prefecture as of 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, as seen in a screenshot taken from the Meteorological Agency website. Level 4 areas are shown in purple.
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2024
Heavy rain continues in Okinawa
The Meteorological Agency urged people in the affected region to be on high alert for landslides, inundation of low-lying areas and swollen rivers.
El Lequio is a unique watering hole on Naha's main Kokusai-dori street — which works both to its benefit and detriment.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 10, 2024
Is Okinawa ready for a bar like El Lequio?
The bar describes its vibe as “Nikkei Latino” (the name comes from the moniker given to Okinawa by Age of Exploration sailors from Spain), and it’s pleasantly disarming.
The Usasuka Ryuchu throne carving on the second floor of Shuri Castle’s main hall features a unique twisted dragon design — a detail missing from prior reconstructions.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2024
Okinawa's Shuri Castle marks five years since devastating fire
With completion set for 2026, national and Okinawan authorities are working together to restore intricate details.
A Ground Self-Defense Force V-22 Osprey transport aircraft
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2024
GSDF suspends Osprey flights over accident during training
All GSDF Ospreys will remain grounded until the cause of the incident is identified and countermeasures are taken thoroughly.
A pig bone is hung at the entrance to the Shiokawa district in the village of Tamara, Okinawa Prefecture, in August 2021.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Oct 21, 2024
Okinawan pig slaughter ritual blocked by public health authorities
The ban presents a dilemma to residents who say making changes takes away the practice's meaning.
Ground Self-Defense Force vehicles are unloaded during rapid deployment training in Yokohama on Thursday. The GSDF, which was informed of the discovery of two unexploded bombs next to an airport in Okinawa, confirmed both objects to be British-made 250-kilogram bombs.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2024
Two unexploded bombs found near airport in Okinawa
A company tasked with searching for dud shells discovered one of two unexploded bombs Oct. 8 and the other three days later.
Gen Nakatani (center), who was named defense minister last week, attends an extraordinary session of the Lower House at parliament in Tokyo on Oct. 1.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 9, 2024
U.S. and Japan defense chiefs agree to beef up Nansei Islands presence
Two controversial proposals put by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba — an Asian version of NATO or revising the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement — were not discussed.
A satellite image taken early on Monday morning shows Typhoon Krathon over the northern waters of the Philippines and Tropical Storm Jebi over the waters around the Ogasawara Islands.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2024
Pair of powerful storms to approach Japan this week
Tropical Storm Jebi and Typhoon Krathon are approaching Japan, threatening to unleash strong winds and heavy rainfall on Okinawa as well as Kanto.
Yonaguni Mayor Kenichi Itokazu speaks to a Ground Self-Defense Force soldier at the town hall on Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost inhabited island in Okinawa Prefecture last  November.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 26, 2024
Deterring Taiwan conflict is top priority for Japan's ‘front-line’ mayor
The mayor believes the U.S. and Japan must do away with "strategic ambiguity" over Taiwan if they intend to keep China in check.
A mongoose on a road in Nago, northern Okinawa, in December 2022. The mongoose was first introduced to Japan in Naha in 1910 for the purpose of exterminating the local habu snakes and rats.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Sep 23, 2024
After Amami-Oshima success, Okinawa's mongoose eradication in focus
Okinawa island's much bigger resident population makes it a challenge to get rid of the animal.

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition