CURRENT ISSUE
Pick Up Stories

Okinawa Expressway Renewal Work Starts J… [CURRENT ISSUE LIFE Living]
NEXCO, the company operating the Okinawa Expressway announces that Expressway renewal works start from January 6th to April 28th in 2026 bet...Read More

Itoman Tug-of-War marks end of summer [CULTURE CURRENT ISSUE ENTERTAINMENT]
Many Okinawan farmers and fishermen, in some form or fashion, pay tribute to the Gods, seeking their blessing and favor for a great harvest ...Read More

Awamori "Ku-su" Day [CURRENT ISSUE LIFE]
September 4th is the “Ku-su Day”, with September = ‘9’ which is pronounced ‘kyu’ or ‘ku’ in Japanese, and ‘4’ being pronounced ‘...Read More
2014.02.20
Renovated Au Kokutai shop offering big deals [Business]
Okinawa’s premiere cellular phone and service organization, the Au Shop near Kadena Air Base is offering a series of special deals as it celebrates completion of its grand renovati...
2014.02.20
And this week’s winner is… [Weekly Winners]
13-year-old Justin Arbogast was the lucky winner in last week’s JU raffle. He won a pair of tickets to the Ryukyu Philharmonic Orchestra concert, which he said he plans to attend w...
2014.02.19
Kyoto Hannarytz proves Golden Kings is fallible [Ryukyu Golden Kings]
The Kyoto Hannaryz, chief rival to the Ryukyu Golden Kings in the Basketball Japan League’s Western Conference, took Okinawa to task in a weekend series, allowing the visitors to b...
Man arrested for attempted abduction of school girl [News]
Okinawa Prefecture Police arrested a 46-year-old Urasoe man, Tuesday, on suspicion of an attempt to abduct an elementary school girl in Motobu, in northern Okinawa. The man has adm...
Arsenic contamination found at Hansen helicopter crash site [News]
Okinawa Bureau of Defense and Policy announced on Tuesday, that arsenic contamination has been discovered in the soil at the site where a U.S. Military HH60 rescue helicopter crash...
Sanshin exhibition open at Okinawa Prefectural Museum [News]
An exhibition at the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum opened an exhibition on sanshin, the Okinawa’s trademark instrument, starting Tuesday. There will be several of the...
Japan’s oldest shell tools discovered in Minatogawa [News]
Archaeologists digging in Sakitari Cave in Minatogawa, Nanjo City, unearthed 39 sharp tools made of shells that have been determined to be the oldest tools ever discovered in Japan...
Elderly woman driver severely injured in car accident [News]
A 82-year-old Yomitan woman driving her car crashed head-on with a truck on Route 16 in Chibana, Okinawa City, Monday morning. According to Okinawa City Police investigators, the w...
Naha Airport new International Terminal opens [News]
The new Naha Airport International Terminal began operations on Monday. The terminal building has four floors, and is 3.6 times bigger than the old terminal. It also has more resta...
Onoyama FamilyMart dresses up in Giants’ theme [News]
One of Japan’s most storied pro-baseball teams, the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants, is currently holding the team’s spring training camp at Onoyama Baseball Stadium in Naha. To mark the occa...
Missing Naha diver, four others found alive in Indonesia [News]
Five of the seven female divers that went missing Feb. 14 in Bali, Indonesia, were found alive on Monday, clinging to a reef some 15 miles from the spot where they had disappeared....
Ishigaki Island welcomes cruise ship from Germany [News]
German cruise ship “Deutschland” made its first ever visit to Ishigaki, Feb. 3rd. Upon the ship’s arrival, Ishigaki City Office Tourism Office officials greeted the ship and its 38...
2014.02.15
Bodysurfing with new twist [Sports]
By David Higgins A new trend to enjoy waves has reached Okinawa that is much different from surfboarding or bodyboarding. It’s called hand plane surfing and it’s done with a small...
2014.02.14
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...
Teacher suspended for physically punishing student [News]
Okinawa Board of Education suspended a 29-year-old Naha City junior high school teacher, Wednesday, for physically punishing a student. The suspension is for 44 days. According to ...
Seminars aim to prevent construction crane accidents [News]
According to Okinawa Labor Bureau number accidents on construction sites involving cranes has been on increase in Okinawa lately. To prevent such accidents, the Okinawa Labor Burea...
Yomitan issues commemorative postage stamps for being #1 [News]
Yomitan Village became the most populous village in Japan on Jan. 1st, and to celebrate the occasion, village officials have created a set of commemorative postage stamps with pict...
2014.02.13
Sunday’s Okinawa Marathon is big deal [Sports]
It’s anybody’s race to win Sunday as more than 11,000 runners step to the Naha starting line for the 2014 Okinawa Marathon. The traditional winners of the past few years were all o...
