CURRENT ISSUE
Pick Up Stories

Pro-Baseball Spring Training 2023 [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

‘Year of the Rabbit’ 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

Okinawa Expressway Renewal Work 2023 (Is… [CURRENT ISSUE LIFE News]
NEXCO, the company operating the Okinawa Expressway announces that Expressway renewal works start from January 6th in 2023 to late April in ...Read More

Futenma Osprey deployment could upset China [Military Politics]
Experts say the deployment of the U.S. Marine Corps’ MV-22 Osprey aircraft to Okinawa could upset China as the plane will make it possible for the Marines to send troops quic...
Remaining three Ospreys to come to Okinawa within weeks [Military News]
The U.S. Marine Corps says that the three MV-22 Osprey aircraft still in Iwakuni will move to MCAS Futenma, their permanent home in Okinawa, over the next few weeks. The first six ...

40,000 ANA China Route reservations canceled [Business]
All Nippon Airways says that more than 40,000 seat reservations have been canceled on its Japan-China flights for the three months to November, as tensions mount between China and...
Naha Terrace Hotel wins Green IT Award [Business]
The Terrace Hotel in Naha City is the recipient of a Green IT Award 2012 in ceremonies in Tokyo. The hotel, along with Yokogawa Electrical Machinery of Tokyo, was recognized for gr...
Specialty hotel to open in Izumizaki [Business]
Specialty hotel to open in Izumizaki A new low cost hotel catering to women and long stay groups on Okinawa will open in Naha City’s Izumizaki district next summer. Hotel operating...

Noda chooses Makiko Tanaka in his Cabinet reshuffle [News]
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has opted for a Beijing-friendly woman in his Cabinet as he shuffles people around in hopes of buoying his shaky public persona. Although he picked an...
Osprey foes block MCAS Futenma gates [News]
Okinawa residents wasted no time mobilizing supporters to oppose the arrival of the MV-22 tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft, mounting a series of blockades around all three gates to Futen...

Golden Kings lose typhoon-shortened series with Korea [Ryukyu Golden Kings]
The Ryukyu Golden Kings only had one shot at Korea’s championship basketball squad, thanks to Typhoon Jelawat’s pounding Okinawa Saturday, and that opportunity didn’t go the home t...

Season’s strongest typhoon bashes Okinawa [CURRENT ISSUE News]
Typhoon Jelawat did last weekend what Samba and Bolaven couldn’t; it slammed into Okinawa Prefecture from one end to the other, leaving one man dead, dozens injured and damages in ...
3 more Osprey planes deployed to Okinawa [News]
Three more MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor transport planes have arrived at the Futenma Marine Corps Air Station on Okinawa. The three, which flew in from the Marines’ Iwakuni base i...

This week’s winner [Weekly Winners]
Melissa A. Duncan is this week’s lucky winner of the Japan Update weekly raffle. She won a free one-night stay for two at the Best Western Naha Inn, a business hotel located within...

MV-22B Ospreys arrive at MCAS Futenma [News]
Six MV-22B Osprey aircraft flew from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and arrived at MCAS Futenma on Monday, the first element of two squadrons to be based on Okinawa. Squadron air...

Osprey foes block Futenma Marine Corps Air Station gates [News]
Okinawa residents wasted no time mobilizing supporters to oppose the arrival of the MV-22 tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft, mounting a series of blockades around all three gates to Futen...
Typhoon Jelawat messes up weekend events. [News]
Second super typhoon in two weeks, and the third to hit Okinawa in a month is currently just south of the island and still nearing, but already it has messed up practically all eve...

Golden Kings to take on Korean league champions [Ryukyu Golden Kings]
The Ryukyu Golden Kings are ready to face another championship basketball squad, the Anyang KGC, on their home court in Okinawa Convention Center Gym, on Sunday, which will go ahea...

MMA fitness trainer seminar coming to Okinawa [Sports]
A Mixed Martial Arts expert is coming to Okinawa in October to conduct a Certification Course on developing cutting edge Mixed Martial Arts strength and conditioning training progr...
China party to send senior official to Japan [Politics]
The Communist Party of China has sent a senior official to Japan on Monday in an effort to repair the strained relationship between the two nations. Since Japan nationalized three ...
3,700 Chinese tourists cancel Okinawa trips [Business]
Some 3,700 mainland Chinese tourists have cancelled trips to Okinawa Prefecture amid deteriorating Japan-China relations over disputed islands located in the southern part of the p...
Army PFC injured when his driving buddy crashes car [News]
A 20-year-old Army Private First Class stationed at Kadena Air Base suffered serious injuries when his driving partner crashed his car into a guardrail on Highway 58 in Onna Villag...
Kadena airman dies in motorcycle crash [News]
A 33-year-old airman is dead after losing control of his motorcycle driving Highway 329 and crashed into a roadside tree. Rashard Jackson was driving in the Higashi Onna district o...