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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
Workers’ unions ask to discontinue civil safety patrols [News]
The Government sponsored civilian Okinawa safety teams that were set up in June using staff from the Okinawa General Bureau and Ministry of Defense to patrol low-traffic areas in l...
Taxi fares to rise on remote islands [News]
The Transport Department of the Okinawa General Bureau announced that taxi fares on the remote islands of Okinawa would rise Oct. 1st. The higher fares will be applied to 427 taxis...
Cruise liner brings 2,000 passengers to Toguchi Port [News]
A Hong Kong based Star Cruises’ cruise ship Super Star Virgo entered Toguchi Port in Motobu, Wednesday, marking the first time a cruise liner has made a call at Toguchi Port. The 7...
Volleyball player Zayasu to play next season in France [Sports]
Kotoki Zayasu, an Okinawan woman volleyball player and a member of the Japanese National Women’s Volleyball Team, will transfer to one of the top teams of the French volleyball lea...
Okinawa experiences record hot summer 2016 [News]
Okinawa experiences record hot summer Average temperature in Okinawa Prefecture during the three summer months from June to August was the highest on record, according to Okinawa M...
Rescuing child’s life earns letters of appreciation to two students [News]
Motobu Police has sent letters of appreciation to Kohei Higa and Ryudo Kato, for their rapid and effective rescue work. When the two men were swimming off Kouri Beach in Nakijin Vi...
New electric power retailer to start business in October [Business]
Okinawa Gas New Power, a new electric power retailer established in April as a joint venture of Okinawa Gas of Naha City and eREX CO. Ltd. of Tokyo, is scheduled to begin electric ...
National Tree Planting Ceremony for first time in Okinawa in 2019 [News]
The National Land Afforestation Promotion Organization decided in its general meeting on Tuesday in Tokyo to hold the 2019 National Tree Planting Ceremony in Okinawa. This marks th...
Okinawan mango wine earns four top prizes [News]
Mango Wine, made by Uchina Farm in Itoman, was awarded four prizes including the “Partum Gold Prize,” the top prize, at Asia’s largest wine competition “Japan Wine Challenge 2016”....
Okinawa collects ¥336.5 billion in taxes in 2015 [Business]
According to Okinawa National Tax Agency, the total tax receipts in the prefecture in fiscal 2015 were ¥336.531 billion, which is 11.5% or ¥34.805 billion higher than the year befo...
Friendship on LINE leads to attempted murder [News]
A friendship between two young women that they struck using a popular communications app LINE turned sour after the women met in person, and started an argument that ended with one...
Okinawa hotel occupancy rate, revenues increasing [Business]
A report from the Okinawa Development Finance Corporation, published on Aug. 26, says the occupancy rate of 71 major hotels in Okinawa in fiscal 2015 increased from the year before...
Cracked window forces ANA flight to land at Naha [News]
A cockpit window of an All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 airliner on its way from Haneda to Singapore developed a crack when the aircraft was flying over Ishigaki Island at about 3:10 ...
Agreement reached to fix Yui Rail elevators [News]
A fight among bureaucrats concerning who’d foot the bill to repair malfunctioning elevators at two stations on Okinawa Urban Monorail Line “Yui Rail” has been resolved, and the pub...
TripAdvisor names best 20 Japanese Castles [News]
TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel review website, announced the results of voting by the site’s users for the best 20 castles in Japan in 2016. From Okinawa, Nakagusuku Castl...
Officials warn of bacterial risk in river activities [News]
As the long hot summer of Okinawa continues, the Prefecture Health and Longevity Division is calling for public’s attention to a risk of being infected by leptospirosis, a bacteria...
Chatan fire station beefs up high-rise rescue capability [News]
Chatan’s Nirai Fire Department has concluded a cooperative agreement with Kinko Jyuki, Okinawa’s largest heavy equipment leasing company, to secure the use of a crane truck with a ...
Part of Camp Hansen to be returned to Okinawa [News]
Officials at Okinawa Defense Bureau have reportedly informed Nago City that a 55-hectare parcel of city-owned land now belonging to Camp Hansen in Kouki, Nago City, would be return...
Coast Guard gets ¥67.4 billion to beef up Senkaku security [News]
The Japanese Government has appropriated in its second supplementary budget of fiscal 2016 a total of ¥67.4 billion to Japan Coast Guard. The money is earmarked to strengthen secur...
JA starts shipping earliest Satsuma Mikan oranges [News]
JA Okinawa shipped Tuesday the season’s first Satsuma Mikan oranges from the Einoushinkou Center in Nago City. The shipment was the earliest in all of Japan. Officials at JA say th...
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