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
U.S. voices displeasure over China Senkaku’s stance [Politics]
The United States is criticizing China’s territorial claim around the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, over which tensions between the two Asian nat...
Osaka’s mayor now favors Futenma relocation here [Politics]
Toru Hashimoto, mayor of Osaka and co-leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party), traveled to Okinawa last Tuesday for a three-day visit, during which he was expected ...
Chinese diplomats wanted America Out in 1950 [Politics]
The winds of change were blowing more than two decades before the United States surrendered control of Okinawa back to Japan in 1972, with China spearheading arguments in 1950 it w...
Okinawa, Tokyo split on need for sovereignty ceremonies [Politics]
The Japanese government in Tokyo and the Okinawa Prefecture remain wide apart over a state-sponsored ceremony on April 28th to celebrate the 61st anniversary of the country’s...
Okinawa’s governor calls for base return changes [Politics]
Okinawa’s governor is calling up Japan and the United States to modify the agreement made for return of U.S. military bases, facilities and land used on his island. Governor Hiroka...
Senkakus dispute causes China to want Summit postponement [Politics]
The ongoing feud over who has sovereignty over the disputed Senkaku Islands in southeastern Okinawa Prefecture has caused China to demand that a trilateral summit slated for later ...
Defense Minister insists Futenma, bases return ‘not linked’ [Politics]
Japan’s Defense Minister has told Okinawa officials the return of some American military facility sites to Japan are not linked to any movement on Futenma Marine Corps Air Station....
Japan Preparing for “Worst” on North Korea [Politics]
Japan is preparing for the worst-case scenario in the situation relating to North Korea, as the reclusive country is escalating its war rhetoric. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Y...
Governor again rebuffs Cabinet’s plea for Henoko [Politics]
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, who’s currently visiting Okinawa to brief the Okinawa Governor on the on-going negotiations with the United States over the timetable of ret...
Taiwan to pass on Senkakus in fisheries talks [Politics]
Taiwan’s taken a step away from the Senkakus dispute, announcing plans not to bring up its right to claims to the Senkaku Islands. The move is considered a major policy shift by Ta...
Okinawa’s governor ‘may’ attend Sovereignty Anniversary ceremonies [Politics]
Opposition to the central government’s plans for a government led ceremony in April to commemorate the 1952 restoration of Japan’s sovereignty has Okinawa’s governor shuffling his ...
Abe seeks plans for fast return of Okinawa bases [Politics]
Japan’s Prime Minister has directly asked U.S. President Barack Obama to push his government to expedite plans for returning five Okinawa base facilities and areas leased by the mi...
Abe pledges to reduce Okinawa burdens, improve economy [Politics]
Walking a fine line to execute measures to protect Japan’s security interests, while at the same time reassuring Okinawa officials he’s got their best interests at heart, Prime Min...
Tokyo submits landfill permit request for Henoko [Politics]
Washington is calling Japan’s submission of a landfill permit request to the Okinawa governor “a key milestonf a landfill permit request to the Okinawa governor “izing 86-83 ...
Okinawa Governor balks at attending Tokyo ceremony [Politics]
An unhappy Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima is showing his unwillingness to attend a Japanese government-sponsored ceremony to mark the 61st anniversary of the country’s res...
Abe vows to help ease Okinawa’s burdens [Politics]
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has again expressed his resolve to make progress on issues involving Okinawa Prefecture. “The central government will make an all-out effo...
Japan’s sovereignty day plan riles Okinawans [Politics]
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe thinks his plan to commemorate the restoration of Japan’s sovereignty and the end of Allied Occupation is a good one for next month, but Okinawans aren’t ...
China urges Japan to reverse Senkakus nationalization [Politics]
China is urging Japan to “make concrete efforts” to improve relations with Beijing, demanding that Japan reverse the nationalization of the Japanese-administered, Chine...
Abe says airfield replacement will be in Okinawa [Politics]
The opinions of Okinawans not withstanding, Japan’s Prime Minister says the replacement for Futenma Marine Corps Air Station will be in Okinawa due to the contentious security envi...
Governor rejects fishermen’s support for land reclamation [Politics]
Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima says that there is little likelihood of a key U.S. base in the prefecture being relocated to its Henoko coastal area despite support from a local ...