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Okinawa marks 52nd anniversary of revers… [Politics]
May 15th marked the 52nd anniversary of Okinawa’s reversion to the Japanese administration in 1972. According to published figures, the Japa...Read More
‘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
Golden Kings trounce Crane Thunders [Ryukyu Golden Kings]
The first game of the series wasn’t much more than a scrimmage for the Ryukyu Golden Kings, but was exciting the basketball fans in Ishigaki, on the far southern end of the prefect...
Prime Minister dissolves Diet’s Lower House [Politics]
Prime Minister Shizo Abe is set to dissolve the current Lower House of the Diet and announce new elections tomorrow, a move political observers say will strengthen his power, while...
20 rounds of ammo found in trash on Kume Island [News]
20 rounds of ammo that looked like riffle cartridges were found among trash collected in Kumejima Town on Nov. 11th. According to Kumejima Police, the cartridges are not rusty and ...
Suspicious fires occur again in Yaese Town [News]
Two suspicious fires occurred in Yagibaru, Yaese Town, between 1 and 1:25 p.m. on Nov. 15th. Earlier, three suspicious fires were put out on Nov. 10th near the same location. Accor...
Bar manager arrested for stabbing customer to death [News]
Itoman Police arrested 53-year-old bar manager Yoshihiro Shingaki on suspicion of murder on Nov. 13th. According to investigators, Shingaki stabbed 48-year-old farmer Yoshihide Goy...
Part-time teacher arrested for trespassing, sexual harassment [News]
Yaeyama Police arrested a 35-year-old part-time elementary school teacher, Hirofumi Arashiro, on Nov. 13th, in Tonoshiro, Ishigaki City, on suspicion of unlawful entry and harassin...
Ships collide on Nakagusuku Bay, smaller one sinks [News]
A Panama-registered 2,982-ton cargo ship ‘Yong Sheng 7’ with a Chinese crew of 14, collided with a Japanese 960-ton ‘No. 18 Hokuhei’ sand dredger ship with a crew of five, on Nakag...
Shiroma wins Naha Mayor’s seat on Onaga’s coat tails [Politics]
Following the resignation of former Naha City Mayor Takeshi Onaga, the election of a new Naha City Mayor took place on Sunday, the same day as the prefecture’s gubernatorial electi...
Onaga to become next Okinawa governor [Politics]
Barely an hour after the polls closed, former Naha Mayor Takashi Onaga was all but certain to win the Okinawa gubernatorial election. Onaga’s victory is sure to spell trouble to th...
Okinawa residents go to polls to elect governor [Politics]
The Okinawa Prefecture gubernatorial election started this morning at 7 a.m. and the polls close at 8 p.m. According to the Prefectural Election Administration Commission, 31.39 pe...
Okinawa hosts MLB-Japan baseball finale [Sports]
Baseball IS the sports headline for the next seven days, eclipsing the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and the Japan bj-league, the National Hockey Le...
Police investigates suspicious fires in Yaese [News]
Three suspicious fires took place on a vacant lot of land and sugar field in Yaese Town around noon on Nov. 10. An area of a total of 230 square meters was burned in addition to so...
Yoshimoto to set up satellite TV channel company in Okinawa [News]
Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., the largest and oldest entertainment management agency in Japan, will start a new satellite TV channel called ‘Kawaiian TV’ specializing in idols. The channel ...
FC Ryuyu breaks losing streak at its 10,000 Soccer Festival [Sports]
The only professional soccer team on Okinawa, FC Ryukyu, faced the J-league junior team J-22 that consists of players from various J-league junior teams and represents Japan in int...
Naha City mayoral election campaign under way [Politics]
The start of the campaigning in the Naha City Mayoral Election on Nov. 16th was officially announced Sunday. In the election, 63-year-old former Vice Mayor Mikiko Shiroma will face...
Okinawan athlete wins World Karate Kata title [Sports]
Ryo Kyuna of Okinawa won the title at the World Karate Championships finals in male individual Kata category, Saturday, in Bremen, Germany. In the final contest, Kyuna faced a Germ...
Fun Fan Terminal to lure Kings’ fans to Okinawa City [Business]
Okinawa City is starting a new promotion called “Fun Fan Terminal” aimed at attracting spectators of the Ryukyu Gilden Kings home games into shopping areas in Okinawa City. The Gol...
Man’s remains discovered in cave in Miyakojima City [News]
Skeletal remains of a man were discovered in a cave in HIrara, Miyakohima City. A man living near the site made the grim discovery in September, and called the police. Miyako Polic...
New Hawaii Governor has family roots in Okinawa [News]
The 59-year-old Hawaii Senator, David Ige (D), a third-generation Japanese-American with family roots in Okinawa, was elected the Governor of Hawaii on Nov. 4. Ige defeated James A...
Resort weddings booming [Business]
The Okinawa Prefecture Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports announced on October 28th that resort weddings in the prefecture increased by 22% to 5,231 couples for the first ha...