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June 30, 2026
 

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OKINAWA

Minoru Kihara
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2026
Japan calls China Coast Guard moves in its EEZ near Yonaguni ‘unacceptable’
The unusual moves follow an agreement between Japan and the Philippines last month to launch maritime border delimitation talks, which overlap with areas claimed by Beijing.
Toshiko Nakasoko, 90, leaves a nursing care facility on Hateruma Island in Taketomi, Okinawa Prefecture, in April. If a contingency over Taiwan occurs, "I’ll just die on the island,” she said.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jun 29, 2026
‘I’ll just die on the island’: Some in Okinawa to resist evacuation
For many older people on Okinawa’s remote islands, Taiwan contingency plans do not necessarily guarantee their safety, while some are scarred by memories of World War II.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at a World War II memorial event in Okinawa on Tuesday
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2026
Takaichi heckled at WWII memorial in Okinawa
A small but vocal number of demonstrators shouted slogans throughout Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s speech at an event commemorating the 81st anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa.
Okinawa war survivor Yasuko Onaga speaks about her experiences, in Naha on June 9.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2026
81 years on, ex-Okinawa wartime student nurse urges no more war
With Okinawa marking the 81st anniversary of the end of the ground battle, Onaga, a resident of Naha, is making a powerful appeal for peace amid rising international tensions.
Participants lay flowers during the Okinawa Memorial Day ceremony honoring all war dead at Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / History
Jun 23, 2026
Victims of Battle of Okinawa mourned 81 years on
The Battle of Okinawa was the most savage ground battle staged in Japan during the war, and Mabuni was the site of the last fierce fighting.
A general meeting of the suprapartisan group of lawmakers on air raid victims held Monday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2026
Lawmakers plan bill to provide aid to civilian victims of World War II
Submission of the bill to parliament will be the first such move in 38 years.
Soil is dumped into a newly designated reclamation area in Oura Bay, off Henoko in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 2026
Fresh land reclamation work begins at Henoko for U.S. base transfer
The reclamation work is being done for the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma air station from another city in Okinawa.
Transcarpathia is a western Ukrainian region and one of the country's most ethnically diverse areas, populated by groups including Hutsuls, seen here in Yasynya, as well as Hungarians, Romanians, Slovaks and Ukrainians.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2026
Language, power and the price of entry
The same logic that protects Hungarians in Ukraine leaves Russian in the cold. Language policy, it turns out, has a foreign policy.
Waseda University professor Makoto Seta says it is common for two countries to delimit their maritime boundary first and then negotiate with a third-party country, even if there is an overlap in the three nations' exclusive economic zones.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2026
Japan-Philippines maritime talks ‘big step,’ expert says
China has criticized the Japan-Philippines negotiations, saying that Beijing’s participation is essential and that the talks are completely illegal and invalid.
More municipalities in Okinawa Prefecture are adopting a program that allows children to take a "learncation" from school to spend time with family engaging in educational activities.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jun 8, 2026
Okinawa schools adopting ‘learncation’ to give students more family time
The program allows children to take authorized leave from school on weekdays to spend time with family for educational activities.
Californians Ben and Ariella Jacoby, who married with Mount Fuji as their backdrop, are part of a growing trend of inbound weddings in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2026
Foreign couples are turning Japan into a wedding destination
Personal and cultural connections, as well as a weak yen, are driving more foreign couples to choose Japan to mark major life events.
The main hall of Shuri Castle in Naha in November 2025 after protective coverings for reconstruction work were removed
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2026
Ceremony set for November will mark Shuri Castle’s main hall being restored
Restoration work for the main hall began in November 2022 following a fire in October 2019.
The Yaima Maru ferry, which will operate between Taiwan and Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture, is docked in Keelung, Taiwan, Thursday.
JAPAN
May 28, 2026
New Taiwan-Japan ferry service debuts on ship that has war evacuation role
The Yaima Maru is among vessels to be used to evacuate residents on southern Japanese islands to mainland Japan in times of crisis.
The police notified the Okinawa Prefectural Government on Friday that the man was referred to prosecutors the same day on charges including nonconsensual sexual intercourse resulting in injury.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 23, 2026
U.S. soldier in Japan sent to prosecutors over sexual assault
The U.S. Army solider was referred to prosecutors on charges including nonconsensual sexual intercourse resulting in injury.
Education ministry officials announce the findings of an investigation into the fatal boat accident in March off the coast of Henoko, in Okinawa Prefecture, at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 23, 2026
Government finds school program violated law in wake of deadly Okinawa boat accident
It was the first time since the current basic education law was enacted that the education ministry has found a case in violation of the law on the grounds of political neutrality.
A Ground Self-Defense Force V-22 Osprey at the Higashifuji maneuver area in Shizuoka Prefecture in June
JAPAN
May 22, 2026
GSDF Osprey to use U.S. base in Okinawa for first time
As part of a June exercise between the GSDF and the U.S. Marine Corps, the two are considering a plan to airlift a mock patient from Miyako Island to the U.S. Futenma base.
A strong earthquake struck Kagoshima Prefecture on Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 20, 2026
Magnitude 5.9 earthquake strikes Kagoshima islands
Police in the town of Yoron, which experienced the strongest shaking, have said there have been no reports of damage resulting from the quake.
Kanata Konoe, 7, writes kanji characters on a whiteboard as his teacher, Sachiko Shimabukuro, watches over him at Nakadomari Elementary School in the village of Onna, Okinawa Prefecture, in March.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
May 11, 2026
Okinawan schoolboy deals with hearing loss with speed and cheerfulness
At the tender age of 7, Kanata Konoe has already come to terms with the fact that everyone is born different, and that’s alright.
Four Chinese coast guard vessels sailed in Japanese territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, on Thursday, marking the first intrusion by Chinese government ships into the area since April 28.
JAPAN
May 8, 2026
China Coast Guard ships sail in Japanese waters off Senkakus
The four vessels entered Japanese waters near Uotsuri Island, part of the Senkaku chain, in the late afternoon on Thursday.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki announces his bid to run for the September gubernatorial election during a news conference in Naha on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 27, 2026
Okinawa Gov. Tamaki faces wavering support in bid for third term
Changes in the political landscape as a result of the general election have raised uncertainties over the incumbent governor’s backers and their position on a U.S. military base.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
LGBTQ+ families are building lives Japanese lawmakers still struggle to see
Haru Ono founded Nijiiro Kazoku in 2010 after forming a same-sex stepfamily. She said the impetus for founding the organization was that she couldn’t find much reliable information out there for families such as hers in Japan.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

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