Tag - okinawa

 
 

OKINAWA

Okinawa Police have arrested a man on suspicion of murder for allegedly dragging a woman onto a road, leaving her to be run over by a passing taxi in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 13, 2024
Okinawa man arrested for allegedly leaving woman in street to be run over
Police reports indicate that the pair had been drinking together immediately prior to the incident, with the woman possibly intoxicated and unable to move.
The planned return to Japan of a U.S. military port in Naha has been delayed to at least the late 2030s.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2024
Relocation of Naha military port remains a long way off
The facility sits on land near downtown Naha and Naha Airport, and is drawing attention as a promising development site.
The “myahk,” a community currency implemented on Okinawa Prefecture’s Miyako Island in 2018, is intimately tied to local efforts for environmental preservation.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Feb 10, 2024
Japanese communities are creating currencies to educate and empower citizens
The yen will do when paying for things throughout the country. In some places, though, you may try paying with a coin that also helps reduce plastic waste.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jan 30, 2024
Local governments in Japan battle overtourism challenges
Officials are seeking ways to solve problems that emerge from higher tourist numbers, such as a shortage of taxis and the accumulation of garbage.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi meets Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki at the Okinawa Prefectural Government building on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 28, 2024
Japanese government to proceed with U.S. base relocation within Okinawa
During the meeting with Hayashi, Tamaki demanded that the central government immediately stop the landfill work related to the Futenma relocation project
Pupils at Moromi Elementary School in the city of Okinawa use PCs during class to compile information they gather from textbooks and the internet.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jan 15, 2024
Tapping tech's potential, elementary school pushes proactive learning
Pupils, instead of teachers, take the lead in learning according to the goals that they themselves set at the Okinawa school.
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2024
Futenma moves forward, but local concerns must be addressed
Originally planned to have been finished by now, the base project is now anticipated to take over nine years to complete.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2023
Japan to OK base relocation project design change by proxy
The approval of the change application will mark the central government's first-ever proxy execution of a local government administrative task.
Kubura fishing port and Kubura district on the island of Yonaguni, Okinawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2023
Frontier islanders decry lack of plan to aid fleeing Taiwanese
Concerned about the potential for a China-Taiwan conflict, Japan has embarked on its biggest defense buildup since World War II.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2023
Henoko base relocation project enters new phase in Okinawa
The project to relocate a U.S. military base to the Henoko coastal area is entering a new phase five years after land reclamation began there.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2023
Okinawa promotion spending to fall to ¥267.8 billion in fiscal 2024
The outlay would stand below ¥300 billion for the third successive year, according to a government estimate.
Cinema at Sea film festival entry “God Is a Woman,” directed by Andres Peyrot, examines the complex feelings the Kuna, indigenous people living on Panama’s San Blas Islands, have about an unreleased documentary made about them in 1975.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 9, 2023
Cinema at Sea festival highlights diversity and unheard voices
The inaugural event for the film festival in Naha, Okinawa, boasted a strong lineup of features from places and peoples underrepresented in world cinema.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2023
Japan asks U.S. to suspend Osprey flights until safety is confirmed
The U.S. air station in Futenma continued its operation of Osprey aircraft after Wednesday’s incident, causing local residents to voice their concern.
A rendering of the new Junglia theme park scheduled to open in Okinawa in 2025
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 27, 2023
Nature-focused theme park to open in Okinawa in 2025
The park aims to take advantage of the outstanding forests of northern Okinawa Prefecture, which have been designated a World Heritage site.
Cabs not in operation are parked at a taxi company in Naha in October. Finding a taxi in parts of Okinawa Prefecture is becoming increasingly difficult because of a shortage of drivers.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Nov 27, 2023
Getting a taxi in Okinawa harder than ever amid driver shortage
The number of cab drivers working in the prefecture peaked at 10,041 in 2009 and declined to 5,246 in 2021.
A North Korean rocket carrying a military spy satellite is launched in this undated photo released Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 22, 2023
North Korea calls spy satellite launch a success, but questions linger
A rocket carrying the payload passed over the Japanese archipelago late Tuesday, but Tokyo said it had not confirmed the veracity of Pyongyang's claims.
U.S. President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office of the White House in June 1972
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 19, 2023
Nixon's 1953 trip to Okinawa and its lasting impact
Nixon’s trip to Okinawa 70 years ago this month planted seeds for his agreeing to its reversion when he became the U.S. president.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2023
Japanese island holds disaster drill in shadow of Taiwan threat
Yonaguni is only 110 km from Taiwan. In August last year, China fired missiles into nearby waters in response to a visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2023
U.S. spy drone unit leaves Kagoshima for move to Okinawa
The U.S. drones are set to be used to strengthen surveillance of Chinese military ships in the East China Sea.
EF Polymer CEO Narayan Lal Gurjar (right) and COO Kunihiro Shimoji at the company in Onna, Okinawa Prefecture, in August
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Oct 30, 2023
Organic polymer brings water to drought-hit farmlands
The India-born, Okinawa-nurtured product seeks to replace petroleum-derived polymers to promote sustainability.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan