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Okinawa Beach Opening Information 2026! [CURRENT ISSUE LIFE]
Okinawa Beach Opening Information 2026! Ginowan Tropical Beach (Apr. 18) Chatan Sunset Beach (Apr. 10) Chatan Araha Beach (Mid. Apr.) Nishih...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
U.S., Japan set dates for handing back six bases [News]
The United States will return the site of the Marine Corps’ Futenma air station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to Japan as early as fiscal 2022 on condition of building a Fu...
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....
2013.04.12
Protesters give Defense Minister ugly welcome [News]
Protest banners, raised fists and angry shouts greeted Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera after he landed in Okinawa Prefecture on Saturday. Residents made sure Japan’s defense chie...
2013.04.12
Caroline Kennedy to be U.S. ambassador to Japan? [News]
Excitement is mounting in political circles in Tokyo, amid reports that Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of the U.S. President John F. Kennedy assassinated in 1963, is heading to the...
2013.04.12
Sakaguchi Dojo, Pancrase prepare mixed martial arts bouts [Sports]
Sakaguchi Dojo from Tokyo and mixed martial arts promoter Pancrase are teaming up to bring four wrestling matches and six mixed martial arts bouts to Okinawa City Gym. The afternoo...
2013.04.12
And this week’s winner is… [Weekly Winners]
Lisa Leung is the winner of this week’s Japan update weekly raffle. She won a pair of tickets to the Ryukyu Golden Kings basketball match, which she plans to attend with her friend...
Tokyo wants increased emphasis on English education [News]
Citing the need for increased English language education in Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has earmarked ¥1 trillion to develop a “globalized” work force through educational refo...
All Japan Garrison Forces Labor Union Air Force Branch donates clothes [News]
The All Japan Garrison Forces Labor Union Air Force Branch women’s division donated 100kg of clothes to be taken to needy in Malaysia and Cambodia. Yukie Yamashiro, the executive d...
Kadena Police arrests American woman for DUI, hit-and-run [News]
Kadena Police arrested 20-year-old Cullen Maria Garcia, a civilian working for the U.S. military on suspicion of drinking and driving, hitting a car causing injuries to its three p...
Onna Village councilman arrested for violent act [News]
Ishikawa Police arrested Hiroshi Kinjo, a councilman at Onna Village assembly on suspicion of attacking and injuring a 10-year-old child Kinjo is denying the charge, and claims he ...
Okinawa Women’s Junior College to move to Yonabaru [News]
The Okinawa Women’s Junior College, currently located in the Nagata district of Naha City will move to Agarihama area in Yonabaru by August 2015. The new location where the s...
Pair of Jizo statues stolen from “Shiraume no To” [News]
Kiku Nakayama, a representative of Shiraume Alumni Association, which cares for the Shiraume Monument in Itoman City, discovered on Apr. 7 that a pair of Jizo statues have gone mis...
Mamiko Higa wins Yamaha Ladies’ Golf Tournament [Sports]
Okinawa keeps producing champion-class women golfers. Mamiko Higa, an only 19-year-old Okinawan pro-golfer won her first title as she beat the rest of the field at the Yamaha Ladie...
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...
Golden Kings split weekend with western rival Fukuoka [Ryukyu Golden Kings]
The defending Basketball Japan League champion Ryukyu Golden Kings found out what it’s like to be on the losing end of a road game against its Western Conference rival over the wee...
U.S. begins annual Balikatan exercise in Philippines [Military]
Okinawa-based U.S. Marines are among thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines now participating in Balikatan, an annual Republic of the Philippines ~ U.S. military bilate...
2013.04.09
New Naval Hospital opens era of increased service [Military]
By Bill Charles From tents to Quonset huts to a four-story concrete building to a new multi-million dollar U.S. Naval Hospital just opened on Camp Foster, military medicine has nev...
2013.04.05
Haneda jumps to No. 4 busiest airport in the world [News]
Tokyo International Airport has reclaimed its number four ranking among busiest airports in the world. Better known as Haneda, the airport had held the position in 2008, before sli...
String of three robberies on consecutive nights in Naha [News]
According to Naha City Police, there were three incidents on consecutive nights in Naha when two robbers riding on a scooter grabbed a wallet or purse from pedestrians. The robber...
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