CURRENT ISSUE
Pick Up Stories
‘Year of the Dragon’ begins in Okinawan … [CULTURE CURRENT ISSUE]
Legend has it that Buddha asked all animals to meet him on the Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one, and an...Read More
Pro-Baseball Spring Training 2024 [Family Sports]
Okinawa is the southernmost prefecture in Japan, and that means it’s the warmest place in the country in the wintertime. Because of that, ma...Read More
Okinawa Expressway Renewal Work Starts J… [CURRENT ISSUE]
NEXCO, the company operating the Okinawa Expressway announces that Expressway renewal works start from January 9th in 2024 to late April in ...Read More
Concrete wall collapse crushes man to death [News]
A retaining wall at a concrete mixing site collapsed on a Naha City Office worker Wednesday morning killing the man. According to Yonabaru Police, the 4-meter high and 6-meter wide...
15% of teachers in Okinawa have experienced harassment [News]
According to a survey conducted among teachers at pre-schools, elementary, and junior high schools by Okinawa Teachers’ Union last year, 15.8% of them had been subjected to power o...
HAPiNAHA to close at end of June [News]
Goichi Itokazu, the CEO of Ryubo Industries, the company that manages the building on Kokusai Street in Naha housing HAPiNAHA entertainment complex, announced Tuesday that HAPiNAHA...
Northern villages mull closing access to falls basins [News]
Kunigami Village Office requested Monday the Okinawa District Forest Office to study ways to close the access path to Tanagagumui Basin, the site of a fatal accident last weekend. ...
Golden Kings reach BLegue playoff spot [Ryukyu Golden Kings]
The Ryukyu Golden Kings, Okinawa’s team in the professional basketball B League first division, played their 60th and final game of the regular season Sunday against Osaka Evessa a...
Elderly man, woman robbed at knifepoint in Okinawa City [News]
A man broke into a private house in Hiyane, Okinawa City, around 10:20 p.m. Friday and threatened a 88-year-old woman and a 64-year-old man with a knife demanding money. The people...
Gusuku Road Park in Nanjo gets facelift [CURRENT ISSUE]
A popular outing spot, especially for families with children, the Gusuku Road Park in Tamagusuku, Nanjo City, has undergone a facelift. A ceremony was held to mark the occasion on ...
U.S. Air Force woman drowns at Tanaga Falls [News]
A female U.S. airman drowned in an accident when she fell into a river during an outing with a group of 10 other Kadena service members in Aha, Kunigami Village, Saturday afternoon...
Rookie Yamato delivery driver throws mail in forest [News]
A male Yamato Transport contract employee in his teens was found to have disposed a total of 529 direct mail envelopes sent to addresses in the middle part of Okinawa in a forest i...
Goat Park opens in Gushiken, Motobu Town [News]
Denku Goat Park, a new attraction opened at Denku no Eki Ha-So-Park at Gushiken, Motobu Town, on Apr. 28th, with an opening ceremony with about 60 people in attendance. The park of...
Army of scarecrows line Route 505 in Nakijin [News]
In the beginning, there were only seven scarecrows on the flowerbed of a local “himawari (sunflower) circle”. Minoru Oshiro, the local ward headman, made them all using scrap mater...
Photo exhibit of Naha farmers’ market now open [News]
A photo exhibition of “Anyatan Nouren Market” sponsored by Okinawa Times and the Naha Central Farmers’ Market Business Cooperative opened Monday at the same market in Naha City. 67...
New Okinawa City library opens Wednesday [News]
Okinawa City Library is transferring Wednesday (May 3) from its old location in Nakanomachi to Korinza Building at the end of Chuo Park Avenue, in order to give it the much needed ...
New playground opens in Kin Town [News]
Children in Kin Town had a reason to rejoice as a new playground completely new equipment was opened in the town last week. The opening ceremony for the park was held Friday with t...
Women’s participation in labor force highest ever [News]
A recently released Okinawa Prefecture overview of the national census and the employment 2015 in Okinawa, says 278,242 women aged 15 and older were participating in the labor forc...
Mizuho introduces Ie Island specialty lily awamori [News]
Mizuho Shuzo Co., Ltd., an awamori maker in Shuri, Naha City, has developed a new awamori labeled “Ie no Hana.” The new awamori fermented by using flower yeast separated from the E...
Car crash into utility pole leaves elderly woman dead [News]
A car crashed into a utility pole Saturday afternoon on Road 330 in Sobe, Naha City. According to Police, a light car driven by a man in his 20’s strayed for an unknown reason onto...
Brothel owner arrested for prostituting underage girls [News]
Naha Police arrested the owner of a brothel in Naha City on Apt. 28th on suspicion of violating the Child Welfare Act. Police say they arrested 23-year-old Eiki Higa on charges of ...
Prefecture officials issue warning about habu [News]
As the summer gets on the way and the weather becomes increasingly warm, Okinawa Prefecture issued an official warning to be wary about Habu snakes from May 1st through June 30. Ha...
Ryukyu king’s authentic crown on display at Pref. Museum [News]
The authentic original crown of the king of the Ryukyu Kingdom that the king used in important royal ceremonies during the Ryukyu Kingdom era is on exhibition at the Okinawa Prefec...