Politics
Pick Up Stories
Okinawa marks 51st anniversary of revers… [Politics]
May 15th marked the 51st anniversary of Okinawa’s reversion to the Japanese administration in 1972. According to published figures, the Japa...Read More
Futenma base foes gird for battle [Politics]
Opponents of the plan for relocating Futenma Marine Corps Air Station from Ginowan City to the Henoko district of northern Okinawa’s Nago C...Read More
Oliver Stone visiting Okinawa to discuss… [Politics]
American director, producer and screenwriter will be joining a former Okinawa governor and two other panelists on Wednesday, August 14th, to...Read More
Money and promises flow over Henoko plan [Politics]
Demonstrations and public opposition to the Henoko plan are well documented in daily TV news, but for many businesses building the Futenma replacement facility to Henoko would mean...
Aiko Shimajiri confirms support to Henoko plan [Politics]
Aiko Shimajiri, Japan’s minister in charge of Okinawa affairs, who’s currently visiting Washington D.C., stated at a symposium that she agrees that the plan to relocate the MCAS Fu...
Matrix Banzai 2030: Back to the future of 1940’s Japan [Politics]
By Edward Heinrich-Sanchez After living on Okinawa for over 20 years, fairly fluent in the language along with many meetings in Tokyo and around Japan, it is still a challenge to f...
State sues Onaga over Henoko landfill permit cancellation [Politics]
The fight between the Japanese government and Okinawa Prefecture over the relocation of MCAS Futenma to Henoko escalated Tuesday as the government filed a lawsuit with the Fukuoka ...
Okinawa Government files complaint over restart of Henoko landfill work [Politics]
As a first step towards a full-scale court battle, the Okinawa Prefectural Government filed a complaint with the Central and Local Government Dispute Management Council, a third-pa...
Sakima gets rival for Ginowan mayor election [Politics]
63-year-old Keiichiro Shimura held a press conference in Ginowan City, Friday, to officially announce his run for the Ginowan City Mayor’s seat next January. Incumbent Atsushi Saki...
Guantanamo and Henoko, new perspectives to old issues [Politics]
By E. Heinrich-Sanchez According to the 0ct. 2 NNN Prensa Latina, and posted by Anthony Brenner on The Cuban Handshake blog, ” Guantanamo will host a meeting of the World Cou...
Governor makes revocation of Henoko landfill permit official [Politics]
As expected Governor Takeshi Onaga Tuesday revoked the approval of the landfill permit for Henoko that his predecessor had approved in December 2013. The move was expected as inevi...
Final “intensive” talks on Henoko to take place Monday [Politics]
The final round of “intensive” talks between the Government of Japan and Okinawa Prefecture to resolve the dispute over the construction of the replacement facility for MCAS Futenm...
Third round of ‘intensive’ talks yield scarce results [Politics]
The third round of the ‘intensive’ discussions between the Japanese central government and Okinawa Prefecture in Naha, Monday, brought a first agreement between the fighting sides ...
Third round of ‘intense’ talks held Monday [Politics]
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kazuhiro Sugita arrived at Okinawa Sunday morning for the third round of ‘intensive’ talks between the Okinawa Prefectural Government and the Central...
Students protest against security bills in Mihama [Politics]
‘SEALDs Ryukyu’, a protest group in Okinawa against the new security bills, consisting mainly of young students of colleges and universities on Okinawa, organized a protest rally i...
Defense Minister visit fails to advance Henoko talks [Politics]
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani made a quick visit to Okinawa over the weekend hoping to bend the ears of local officials to take more positive stance on the government plan to reloc...
Tokyo tries to soften Okinawa with ¥300 billion budget promise [Politics]
In an apparent attempt to alleviate tensions between his government and Okinawa Prefecture over the construction of the replacement facility for MCAS Futenma in Henoko, Prime Minis...
Henoko construction suspension began; 1st Suga-Onaga meeting today [Politics]
A truce of sorts was declared in the simmering issue of building the relocation facility for MCAS Futenma in Henoko, as the central government ordered a one-month long suspension o...
Bickering over Henoko landfill start continues [Politics]
Although the administration of Governor Takeshi Onaga has requested the central government to withdraw a partial blueprint on the construction of embankments for the V-shaped runwa...
From Havana to Henoko, democracy and genies [Politics]
By E. Heinrich-Sanchez On July 20th, Japan’s Ocean Day, known as “Umi No HI”, the Cuban flag was raised in Washington D.C. as the Stars & Stripes was raised i...
Junior LDP members raise media ire over control suggestions [Politics]
A nationwide condemnation of proposals by some junior LDP legislators to control media threatens to derail Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s proposed revisions to the nation’s security l...
Henoko fight goes on [Politics]
The latest moves in the fight over the Henoko construction plan were made Tuesday, when ruling parties in the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly submitted a draft of an ordinance that wo...
Investments in diplomacy can go long way [Politics]
By E. Heinrich-Sanchez Dear friends, sponsors and members “Specified Nonprofit” NPO Okinawa Ocean Culture & Environment Action Network. I would like to thank the th...