CURRENT ISSUE
Pick Up Stories
‘Year of the Dragon’ 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
Pro-Baseball Spring Training 2024 [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
OkiEvents this Week!! [CURRENT ISSUE ENTERTAINMENT Festival]
・11/3~11/5 Shuri Castle Restoration Festival @ Shuri Castle 10:00~ https://oki-park.jp/shurijo/en/event/8414 PIN: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Qj...Read More
Arashiro 27th in Rio Olympics bicycle road race [Sports]
Two competitors from Okinawa representing Japan took part in men’s bicycle road race in the Rio Olympics on Aug. 6th. Yukiya Arashiro finished the race in 6 hours 19 minutes and 43...
Japan Government puts screws on Okinawa on Henoko [Politics]
In a reversal of previous statements, the Japanese government seems to have taken the gloves off in dealing with the MCAS Futenma relocation issue. In addition to the government re...
Baby boom in Okinawa Zoo [News]
Animal residents at Okinawa Zoo are experiencing a baby boom with a baby Yakushima monkey and baby Eastern grey kangaroo the latest newborns. According to zoo staff, the Yakushima ...
Nissan Skyline to get own postal stamp [News]
One of the most iconic cars made in Japan, Nissan Skyline GT-R, will have be commemorated in a set of postage stamps of its own. Japan Post Co., Ltd and Nissan Motor Co. announced ...
New MICE facility to have 72,000-square-meter floor space [Business]
Okinawa Prefecture officials presented Aug. 1st the basic construction plan of the new MICE facility to be built on a land bordering Nishihara and Yonabaru. The facility is schedul...
Shinzato to stand trial in Okinawa [News]
Japan’s Supreme Court has said no to a petition by Kenneth Franklin Shinzato, who is charged with the rape and murder of a 20-year-old Okinawan woman in May. Shinzato’s lawyer subm...
Kanucha Bay releases CD by local artists [News]
Kanucha Bay Resort in Nago held a press meeting at Live House MOD’S in Chatan on Jul. 25th to announce the release an original CD containing songs of 11 local musicians. A sp...
Okinawa East Fire Dept. looking for bilingual staff [News]
Okinawa East Fire Department, which covers Haebaru, Yonabaru and Nishihara Towns is planning to hire bilingual persons for new positions to be set up within this year. The fire dep...
Far East Bodybuilding Competition presents ‘Beasts of the East’ [Sports]
The MCCS Far East Bodybuilding competition is known as one of Semper Fit’s biggest events of the year and after a four-year hiatus, it finally returned last year. This year, it’s b...
Two schoolboys rescued from reef off Ishigaki [News]
Two junior high school boys were rescued after they became stranded on a reef off Ishigaki Island. Officials at Ishigaki Coast Guard received an emergency call about 20:10 on Aug. ...
One more suspect arrested following Chatan pot raid [News]
Officers from Naha Police, Prefectural Organized Crime Control Division and Kyushu Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare Narcotics Control Department arrested a 23-year-old man fro...
Urashiro elementary school girls’ team wins Japan handball title [Sports]
Urashiro Elementary School Girls’ Handball Club from Urasoe City won the Japan National Elementary School Handball Championship Tournament at Tanabe Central Athletic Gym in Kyoto P...
Pokemon Go irks people at battle sites, sacred places [News]
Okinawa Peace Memorial Park in Itoman City and Sefa Utaki, one of most sacred places on Okinawa in Nanjo City, among others have been confirmed to be locations for “Poke Stops” and...
JAL opens multi-language Okinawa sightseeing info site [Business]
Japan Air Lines opened a multi-language website called “Chura Navi Offer” on July 29 to promote JAL’s ongoing special Okinawa campaign. The site is aimed at foreign visitors, and o...
Tornadoes observed off Ishigaki [News]
Staff at the Ishigaki Metrological Agency observed a tornado forming in the sky about 10km off Ishigaki Island around 16:50 on July 30. Officials at the observatory say the twister...
Happiness finds you dog that you can be happy with [Business]
Okinawa Vet’s Park along Route 23 in Chatan is a facility completely dedicated to the needs of the four-legged friends and members of our family. Happiness is a pet store that is l...
Free Wi-Fi available at 2,000 locations on Okinawa [News]
Just tapping a new app on a smart phone, anyone is able to use the many public wireless LAN available in Okinawa. That’s the promise of so called “Verification Test of Integrated W...
Pokemon Go players warned not to enter U.S. bases [News]
Okinawa Prefectural Police warns players of the popular Pokemon Go smart phone game not to enter U.S, bases on Okinawa lest they could face an arrest by the U.S. Military Police. R...
Okinawa job openings exceed job seekers [Business]
For the first time in 53 years, Okinawa has more job openings than people seeking for jobs. According to government officials, the ratio of job openings to job seekers in the prefe...
Pokemon-Go players create confusion, accidents [News]
A smart phone game ‘Pokemon-Go’ that has taken the world by storm and was released in Japan about a week ago has caused a number of accidents both nation and worldwide, and the sam...