CURRENT ISSUE
Pick Up Stories
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
Obon is time for family gathering to rem… [CULTURE CURRENT ISSUE]
For three days starting on Saturday, August 16th through Sunday, August 18th, many privately owned businesses on Okinawa will close their s...Read More
Day of Naha: Immerse Yourself in the Cap… [Community CURRENT ISSUE]
July 8th is Naha Day in Okinawa. This special occasion originated from the use of play-on-words or rather, a play-on-numbers. Naha’s two syl...Read More
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 ...
Three cruise lines mulling opening base in Okinawa [Business]
Three large cruise lines that are operating worldwide are reportedly studying a possibility of establishing a base port in Okinawa. The three companies, Carnival Corporation, the N...
Samurai Japan wins its first Asia championship [Sports]
The Japanese youth baseball team “Samurai Japan” won its first U12 Asian Championship at the 9th BFA U12 Asian Baseball Championships in Zongshan, China. The Japanese team won the ...
Okinawa businesses employ 3,697 persons with disabilities [Business]
According to Okinawa Labor Bureau statistics, Okinawan businesses with more than 50 employees are currently employing 3,697 persons who are physically, intellectually or mentally c...
First Osprey accident in Okinawa; crashes on reef in Nago [News]
A U.S. Marine Corp’s MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft based on MCAS Futenma crash-landed off the east coast of Nago Tuesday evening. The aircraft had a crew of five onboard and all...
Elderly man dies after knocked down by bus [News]
An elderly man died after being knocked down by a bus while trying to cross a street in Tomari, Naha City, Monday evening. According to Naha Police, 93-year-old Shigeru Miyasato wa...
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