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
Nago mayor asks Onaga to run for governor [Politics]
Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine and 15 members of his administration visited Southern Plaza Kaihou in Naha City to meet Takeshi Onaga, the current mayor of Naha City, in order to ask him...
Mikio Shimoji announces intent to run for governor [Politics]
The former president of a local Okinawan political party Souzou, 52-year- old Mikio Shimoji from Miyako Island announced, Jul. 31st, his intention to seek the seat of the Okinawa g...
Takeshi Onaga sure to enter gubernatorial race [Politics]
Although he has not yet confirmed it officially, Naha Mayor Takeshi Onaga is seriously leaning towards the possibility of running for the governor’s post in Okinawa gubernatorial e...
Opposition party wows to go with Onaga all the way [Politics]
The Gubernatorial Candidate Selection Committee consisting of five groups, the Social Democratic Party, People’s Life Party, Communist Party, Socialist Masses Party and the O...
Nakaima announces intention to run for third term [Politics]
The incumbent Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima has confirmed his intention to run for the third term in the office. He stated his intention to run at a meeting in a hotel in Naha ...
November Governor election shapes to be fight over Henoko [Politics]
According to local press reports, Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima has decided to seek a third term in the office. Reportedly, Naha Mayor Takeshi Onaga is also considering a run i...
“Onaga for Governor” would make for tricky election race [Politics]
Revelations that Naha Mayor Takeshi Onaga is considering a run at Okinawa’s governorship is sending chills up the spines of the Liberal Democratic Party bigwigs in Tokyo, and sugge...
U.S., Japan agree to relocation of military warehouses [Politics]
The U.S. and Japanese government negotiators have reached an agreement to relocate U.S. Air Force warehouses from Camp Kinser to Kadena Ammunition Depot area, according to Japanese...
U.S. skeptical of governor’s 5-year Futenma limit request [Politics]
Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima’s idea to stop operations at the MCAS Futenma does not get much sympathy on the U.S. side. Citing “technical difficulties, ” U.S. government offic...
Sachio Kuwae elected new Okinawa City Mayor [Politics]
Sachio Kuwae won the Okinawa City mayoral election, Sunday. In the election, in which 58-year-old Kuwae faced 64-year-old former Okinawa City Deputy Mayor Yoshinori Shimabukuro, Ku...
Japan seeks U.S. guarantees in Senkaku dispute [Politics]
Japanese officials are seemingly nervous regarding the dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands that has been simmering since the Japanese government purchased three of the isla...
Nakama wins weekend Kin mayoral election [Politics]
Former Superintendent of Education Hajime Nakama won the Kin Town mayoral election, Sunday. The contest was close between the two candidates vying for the mayor’s seat after the in...
Two candidates for Kin Town Mayor [Politics]
Two candidates are running for the mayor’s post in the Kin Town mayoral election this Sunday. The incumbent, Tsuyoshi Gibu, is not running and will retire. 65-year-old Former Town ...
Yoshitaka Nakayama re-elected Ishigaki City Mayor [Politics]
Incumbent Ishigaki City Mayor Yoshitaka Nakayama retained his mayor’s seat in the election held on Feb. 2. 42-year-old Nakayama who ran as an independent but was backed by the Libe...
Welcome Ambassador Kennedy [Politics]
By Edo Heinrich-Sanchez A very big welcome to the Honorable Ambassador Caroline Kennedy. I sincerely hope you connect to Okinawa, its people and unique history interwoven with Ame...
America promises to defend Japan [Politics]
If China’s war of words with Japan over sovereignty of lands including the disputed Senkaku Islands goes beyond talk, the U.S. has assured Japan the United States has its back. Joh...
Futenma-to-Henoko move ‘on track’ [Politics]
Senior leaders of the United States and Japan have reaffirmed decision to press ahead with the project that will result in closure of the largely unpopular Futenma Marine Corps Air...
Nago tinkering with ways to block Henoko move [Politics]
Little more than a month after Okinawa’s governor approved plans for a massive land reclamation project paving the way for creation of a new airfield in the Henoko district of Nago...
China contemplates a southern ADIZ [Politics]
It’s not official yet, but international observers are echoing Japanese news reports that China is giving serious consideration to creating a new Air Defense Identification Zone (A...
Chinese balloonist triggers secret China-Japan talks [Politics]
A Chinese balloonist who launched himself toward Japan’s Senkaku Islands earlier this month became a pawn in secret talks between China and Japan over how to deal with him. The New...