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Pick Up Stories

Pro-Baseball Spring Training 2025 [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 Holiday Season Illumination Guid… [Community CURRENT ISSUE ENTERTAINMENT]
OKinawa Illumination Guide!! Kanucha Stardust Fantasia Nov.1 ~ Feb.12 18:00~23:00 (Last entery 20:30) @Kanucha Resort Okinawa (156-2 Abu Na...Read More

The48th Annual Okinawa Industry Festiva… [CURRENT ISSUE]
The 48th Annual Okinawa Industry Festival, which showcases many products made in Okinawa will open its doors in Onoyama Park and the Okinaw...Read More
Missing snorkeler’s body found off Ishigaki coast [News]
The body of a 29-year-old Naha City company employee swept away by winds from Typhoon Sangda has been recovered . Daisuke Fukuda had been in Ishigaki snorkeling with friends Sunday...
Pickpocket snatches walking man’s wallet in Naha City [News]
A 46-year-old Naha City company employee is out ¥40,000 cash after a thief snatched his wallet from behind as he walked down a city road in the Asato district last weekend. The vic...
LDP presidential campaign officially a five-horse race [News]
There’s plenty of tough talk on the Liberal Democratic Party’s campaign trail, where five men are vying for the job of running the party and leading the LDP back to power. Former P...

Festivals scheduled for weekend postponed [News]
Festivals scheduled for this weekend are postponed to following weekend because of typhoon Sanba. The new dates are Kinser Festival Sep. 22, 23 Uruma Eisa Sep. 22, 23 Kitanakagusu...
Hosono withdrawal gives Prime Minister a boost [Politics]
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s political party affiliation is secure, at least for the future, as his challenger decided not to run for the Democratic Party of Japan presidency. N...
Typhoon’s rains cause cracks, damage to Highway 58 slopes [News]
Heavy rains spawned by Typhoon Bolaven on its sweep across Okinawa several weeks ago are still wreaking havoc in the Nerome district of Ogimi Village, where cracks, slips and slide...
Unexploded shell disposal triggers Hansen forest fire [News]
A forest fire swept across a section of forest at Camp Hansen in Kin Town, not far from a section of a firing range. U.S. Forces firefighting equipment and a helicopter spent nearl...
Suspected bomb parts found at Tonaki Island [News]
Investigators aren’t exactly sure what they’ve found, but at first glance, objects found about 400-500 meters from Tonaki Island are parts of an American training bomb. A resident ...
Bird migration patterns making ready for fall [News]
Autumn is in the air, as evidenced by scenes of winter birds migrating back across the sea to Okinawa to spend the autumn through spring season. Already gracing Okinawa shores are ...
Cultivator accident claims life of elderly Chatan man [News]
An elderly Chatan Town resident has bled to death after getting his hand caught in a small cultivator in a Kitamae district farm. The 85-year-old Morimasa Inamine was working with ...
Senkaku Islands purchase by government being formalized [News]
The paperwork’s being finalized between Japan’s government and the private owner of secluded islands in the East China Sea, a move that is certain to irritate China. The purchase o...
Golden Kings ready to tackle South Koreans in Championship Series [Ryukyu Golden Kings]
Four exhibition basketball matches are on tap the coming couple weeks as the Ryukyu Golden Kings prepare for the season debut in October. A friendly match with fellow Basketball Ja...

And this week’s winner is… [Weekly Winners]
The winner of this week’s Japan Update raffle is Kim Nguyen, who won a free night for two at the Best Western Naha Inn, a high-class and comfortable business hotel located right ne...
Golden Kings unveiling 2012-13 new style [Ryukyu Golden Kings]
The hardwood season’s only days away from preliminary action, and the Ryukyu Golden Kings are gearing up for what they hope will be a powerhouse season. The Okinawa squad was the B...
Marine arrested for having ammunition in his bag [News]
A Marine Corporal winding up a three-year tour on Okinawa ran afoul of the Japanese Firearm and Sword Control Law, which prohibits keeping ammunition in his personal property. Corp...
H.S. students, two construction workers, rip off Urasoe school [News]
A pair of 16-year-old high school students and two teenage construction workers have been arrested for breaking into a Urasoe City high school. The four boys have confessed to the ...
Real Madrid opens soccer school in Ishigaki [News]
One of the world’s strongest soccer clubs, Real Madrid, has teamed with its Foundation from Spain’s First League and is preparing to open a school in Ishigaki City. The Real Madrid...
Visiting tourists run afoul of water while swimming [CURRENT ISSUE]
A pair of swimmers visiting from mainland Japan found themselves in trouble in northern Okinawa, when an emergency call to the Nakijin Fire Station reported one of the men was miss...
Two new mango species being grown in Okinawa [News]
Okinawa’s put it seal of production and approval on two new species of mango, the Natsu-Kobeni and the Ti-rara. Until now, these kind of mangoes were imported from America, and the...
OIST steps forward with new programs [News]
Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University is moving ahead with new science and technology program. The new university programs at the Tancha district of Onna ...