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Okinawa Expressway Renewal Work Starts J… [CURRENT ISSUE LIFE Living]
NEXCO, the company operating the Okinawa Expressway announces that Expressway renewal works start from January 6th to April 28th in 2026 bet...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
Whale watching season off Zamami begins [News]
The season’s first humpback whale was observed off Zamami Island Sunday. A member of the Zamami Whale Watching Association was able to take a picture of the whale while it was swim...
Government cuts Okinawa Development Budget 6% for FY 2017 [News]
According to the draft state budget for the fiscal starting in April, the Japanese government has decided to cut the budget for the economic development of Okinawa by 6 percent to ...
Protest rally in Nago demands Ospreys out, stop to Henoko [News]
Speaking to a crowd of protesters in Nago, Thursday, Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga expressed his “unwavering resolve” to stop the flights of the U.S. Marine Corps’ MV-...
Record warm weather continues in Okinawa [News]
Dec. 21st was the Winter Solstice, but the weather in Okinawa was warm enough to bring out slight sweat. At Shimojijima Airport in Miyakojima City, it was observed 28.1 degrees cen...
Haebaru-Hanaui to be designated National Traditional Craft [News]
It is expected that “Haebaru-Hanaui”, a textile originated from Haebaru Town, will coon be designated a National Traditional Craft. Haebaru-Hanaui textiles are characterized with t...
Okinawa to open multi-language medical call center [News]
As the demand for medical emergency care for foreign tourists is increasing, Okinawa Prefecture Department of Culture, Tourism & Sports is opening a “Multilanguage Service Emer...
Kings go down to second weekend of defeat [Ryukyu Golden Kings]
Golden Kings’ archrival since the days of the now defunct bj-Legue, Osaka Evessa, handed the visiting Kings another pair of bitter defeats in the weekend road game at Ikeda City Gy...
Rescue teams dispatched 18,121 times in Naha during 2015 [News]
Naha Fire Department rescue teams were dispatched 18,121 times to a missions during the year 2015 that is the highest ever. That means that each of the fire department’s six rescue...
Queries to OCVB multi-language center increase [News]
Queries to the multi-language contact center managed by Okinawa Convention Bureau (OCVB) have been sharply increasing this year. The center reports that it received 4,276 queries f...
Ogimi Village Office worker nabbed for DUI [News]
Nago Police arrested 25-year-old Daichi Yamashiro, an Ogimi Village Office worker Monday, on suspicion of causing a traffic accident while driving under influence of alcohol. Accor...
Economic effects of tourist influx exceed trillion yen [Business]
Okinawa Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports announced Monday that the economic ripple effects of Okinawa tourism in fiscal 2015 totaled ¥11,433,400 million that was 49.9% inc...
Two Okinawa schools win marching competition [News]
The 44th National Marching Band Competition was held on Dec. 17th & 18th at Saitama Super Arena. The Music Club of Tokeshi Elementary School in Yomitan won the gold medal in th...
Elderly man crossing street killed on Hwy 58 in Onna [News]
An elderly man crossing Highway 58 at Nakadomari, Onna Village, was killed Saturday evening when he was hit by a car. According to Ishikawa Police, 79-year-old Kazunobu Maeda, a ta...
Monument to Basil Hall Ryukyu visit erected in Tomari [News]
A monument to mark the bicentennial anniversary of the visit to the Ryukyus by Basil Hall, a 19th century British naval officer, was unveiled in a ceremony in Tomari, Naha City, Fr...
Okinawa Zoo to get white lion next spring [News]
The president of Tohoku Safari Park visited the Okinawa City Office Friday, to announce that the Safari Park was planning to send a white lion to Okinawa Zoo a.k.a. Okinawa Kodomo-...
ALT arrested on suspicion of robbery [News]
Naha Police arrested a foreign national assistant language teacher (ALT) on suspicion of robbery. According to Naha Police, 23-year-old Henry Charles Enarson was arrested Saturday ...
British travel website picks Okinawa for top 7 [Business]
Skyscanner, a top-rated British major travel search website picked Okinawa for the 6th place in its “Top 7 Holiday Destinations.” Okinawa was the only Asian destination selected. A...
Women’s National Softball Team training in Yomitan [Sports]
The Japan Women’s National Softball Team arrived at Yomitan Village Thursday to start training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The training camp is the team’s first since Reika U...
BEGIN compose theme songs for new Ishigaki tourist spots [News]
Ishigaki City announced Friday a new project named “Shimanchu nu takara sagashi” (Islanders’ treasure hunt), involving 24 new tourist spots. The participation-type project is aimed...
MV-22 Ospreys return to flight operations [Military]
MV-22 Ospreys based on MCAS Futenma with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force resumed flight operations today. “We have conducted a thorough, careful ...
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