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Pick Up Stories

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
Tensions over Senkakus keep heating up [Politics]
Japanese officials briefly went to heightened status Monday following the entry of three Chinese maritime surveillance ships into Japanese territorial waters. The 11th Regional Coa...
2013.01.23
West captures All Star title in Tokyo [Sports]
Okinawa’s first year head coach was the inspiration and guiding light, while Michael Parker delivered the on-court fireworks as the Western Conference took an easy 128-119 win over...
2013.01.23
And this week’s winner is… [Weekly Winners]
Rowena Briones Tamaki is the lucky winner of this week’s JU raffle. She won a free one-night stay at the Best Western Naha Inn, a classy business hotel located near Kokusai Street ...
Giant air swings have circus-goers holding breath [CURRENT ISSUE]
There’s plenty of excitement at a circus, and the Kinoshita Circus now performing in Tomigusuku City is no exception, featuring a giant air swing called the Wheel of Death. Two hug...
2013.01.20
Long distance runners set for Kouri Island Magic Hour Run [Sports]
Registration for the Kouri Island Magic Hour Run in Nakijin Village is now in its final week, and organizers are putting out the word that international contestants for the Half Ma...
2013.01.18
Downtown Naha hotel being sold by Ishin Group [Business]
The Okinawa Nahana Hotel and Spa in central downtown Naha City is now being spun off to new owners by the Ishin Hotels Group, which says it can’t deal with the lodging unit any lon...
Prefecture official calls Okinawa Futenma relocation impossible [News]
An Okinawa Prefecture official continues to insist that it is virtually impossible to move the Futenma Marine Corps Air Station within the prefecture, based on the current relocati...
Minister hints yen should not fall past ¥100 to dollar [News]
Akira Amari, Japanese minister for industrial revitalization, is speaking out that the yen is approaching an appropriate level, and should not fall past ¥100 to the dollar. Referr...
Chinese in Senkakus scramble Japanese planners [News]
The continuous intrusions by Chinese ships and aircraft into Japanese waters around the Senkaku Islands in southwest Okinawa Prefecture has triggered Japanese bureaucrats into prep...
Army paper notes Kadena kept Agent Orange in ‘71 [News]
The clue was only a single sentence buried in 7,000 pages of government documents released by the Pentagon, but the powerful sentence states conclusively that the U.S. military mai...
2013.01.18
American spy drones considered for Japanese marine surveillance [News]
The growing tensions between China and Japan over the disputed Senkaku islands, owned and administratively controlled by Japan, but claimed by China, has caused Japan to consider u...
2013.01.18
OPA Building to close, re-open as Don Quixote discount store [Business]
Naha OPA building is one of the landmarks on Kokusai Street in Naha City. It has long been a Mecca for fashion conscious shoppers, especially the younger ones, with its cluster of ...
Old man drives car off pier, drowns in Yomitan [News]
A passer-by noticed a mini-car in the bottom of the sea by the mooring pier in Toya Fishing Port in Yomitan at 9:20 a.m., Jan. 9, and called the police and fire station. Kadena pol...
Thief nabbed after ¥5 million jewelry heist [News]
Uruma Police arrested a 38-year-old man, Jan. 10, on charges of stealing rings and other valuables from a jewelry shop in Taba, Uruma City. Investigators describe Tsukasa Shimabuku...
Fatal hit-and-run in Katsuren Saturday [News]
A fatal traffic accident occurred on the prefectural Road 8 in the Katsuren district of Uruma City at 2 a.m., Saturday. According to Uruma Police, a car ran over a man crossing the...
Tanker runs aground off Miyako, one dead, one missing [News]
A small 99-ton tanker “TJ88” registered to a Mongolian company ran aground on a reef about 2 km east of Irabu island in Miyakojima City about 0:55 a.m., Monday, and sent a signal r...
Live-in boyfriend fingered for Naha jewelry theft [News]
Naha police arrested a 50-year-old self-styled artist from Tomari district of Naha City on Jan. 8, on a charge of theft. Investigators say that Yoshihiro Ishioka stole jewelry, inc...
Pieces of human bones shed light to Miyako past [News]
Two human bones were discovered at Tomori Moto-Jima Ruin in Tomori district of Gusukube , Miyakojima City, Jan. 12. One of the bones was discovered from a layer of soil dating back...
U.S. Air Force mulls deploying CV-22 Osprey in Okinawa [Military]
U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley has now admitted that the Air Force is considering deploying its CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft in Okinawa, a move certain to fu...
F-15 fighter aircraft scrambled after Chinese jets spotted near Senkakus [News]
Japan’s Air Self Defense Force is getting some real world training, scrambling F-15 fighters this weekend after a Chinese aircraft approached the Senkaku Islands in the East China ...
