CURRENT ISSUE
Pick Up Stories

OkiEvents this Week!! [ENTERTAINMENT Festival Sports]
・2/25 – 2/26 Yomitan Yachimun Market @ Farmers Market Yunta Ichiba in Yomitan village 10:00~17:00 Free to enter https://www.yomitan-sy...Read More

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
AEON says it will stick with its operating hours [News]
AEON Okinawa, operators of AEON department stores and MaxValu supermarkets on the island, says it’s going to stick with earlier opening times first adopted this year as an energy c...
LDP eyes holding presidential election in late September [News]
The Liberal Democratic Party, the conservative opposition party in Japan, is considering its party presidential election in late September, with campaigning to begin within a coupl...
Japan to offer ¥2 billion to purchase Senkaku Isles [News]
Japan’s central government is getting ready to offer ¥2 billion to the owner of the disputed Senkaku Islands, wanting to settle the conflict and bring the islands under state contr...
Japan, U.S. agree: Osprey crash ‘human error’ [News]
Japanese experts are agreeing with the United States that the fatal crash of a MV-22 Osprey in April was caused by human error. The MV-22 that crashed in Morocco killed servicemen,...
Itoman sets 2-day Kyan Eisa for end of August [CURRENT ISSUE]
The 48th Itoman Kyan Eisa is ready to roll, using its special paranku drum with plenty of hand movements and a low dance style. The Kyan Eisa is performed in front of the Kyan Agri...
Okinawan Athletes to Compete at London Paralympics [Sports]
The great London Paralympics begins next Wednesday, and two athletes from Okinawa are set to compete. Shin Nakazato of Urasoe City will be heading to his third Paralympics for bout...

And this week’s winner is… [Weekly Winners]
Mother and daughter Heather and Isabella Zook were the winner of this week’s Japan Update raffle, and they will have a free one-night stay at Okinawa Pacific Hotel in Naha, courtes...
13 motorcycles torched, car burned in Urasoe incident [News]
Urasoe City Police and Fire Department investigators are studying what happened at a parking facility in the city’s Gusukuma district at 10:15 a.m. August 15th, when a report came ...
Marines release official report on Osprey incident [News]
The U.S. Marine Corps says the MV-22 Osprey that crashed in April in Morocco did not have mechanical problems, adding in the official report there would be modifications to simulat...

Okinawa’s other Miyazato captures Safeway Classic [News]
She’s the hottest name in women’s golf, and Mika Miyazato proved it Sunday with a dominating victory in the Ladies Professional Golf Tour Safeway Classic. Miyazato, who tied for th...

And this week’s winner is… [Weekly Winners]
This week’s JU raffle winners are Benjamin and Brenda Murphy, who won a one-night stay at the Best Western Naha Inn, a comfortable business-class hotel located right next to Naha’s...
Retired U.S. Marine wins chemical exposure claim [CURRENT ISSUE]
A retired Marine who insisted that he suffered health damage because of exposure to defoliants containing dioxin while stationed on Okinawa between 1972 and 1973 during the Vietnam...
Miyako construction leads to red soil runoff to sea [News]
Miyakojima City port workers are accusing a construction company of causing red soil runoff into the ocean waters around the Maja Fishing Port in Nishihara-Hirara district of Miyak...
Controversial tax bill slides through Diet [News]
Japan’s Prime Minister scored a major victory with the Upper House of the Diet’s passage of his tax reform and social security tax bills that will double the nation’s sales tax to ...
Yuirail monorail marks 9th anniversary [News]
It was a somewhat low key celebration this week as Okinawa Urban Monorail Company held its “Yui-rail de Naha Machi-maii” marking the ninth year of operations in Naha City. Some 70 ...
Champion Golden Kings roll out schedule [News]
The Ryukyu Golden Kings, 2011-2012 champions of the Basketball Japan League, are posturing for the new season, announcing both the official schedule and the first pre-season compet...
Okinawa residents renew their opposition to Osprey [News]
Residents in Okinawa on Monday renewed their opposition to the planned deployment of the U.S. military’s MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft at the Futenma Marine Corps Air Stat...
Live fire exercise causes fire near Hansen range [News]
A live fire exercise on Camp Hansen’s Range 2 on Saturday resulted in a fire near the range. The Okinawa Prefecture Base Countermeasure Division says it received a report from the ...

Star-studded festival season kicks off in Yaeyama [CURRENT ISSUE]
Ishigaki Island has put out the welcome mat, and invited Okinawa to its Star Festival and the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful skies and the Milky Way. It’s a weekend event, with...