The main hall of Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, which was destroyed in a fire in October 2019, has largely regained its iconic appearance after exterior reconstruction work came close to completion in July. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/31/japan/shuri-castle-reconstruction/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #okinawa #shuricastle #ryukyukingdom

U.S. military police will conduct a patrol in Naha in the early hours of Nov. 1, in an effort to prevent a recurrence of sexual assault cases involving U.S. military personnel in the prefecture, it has been learned. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/24/japan/crime-legal/us-military-police-patrol/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #us #naha #okinawa #usjapanrelations #sexcrimes

Okinawa Prefecture marked 30 years since a rally that drew in about 85,000 participants protesting the sexual assault of a girl by U.S. soldiers. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/21/japan/okinawa-anniversary-rally/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #okinawa #us #sexcrimes #children

Eisa, a traditional dance in Okinawa, is performed during summer festivals held to honor ancestors. But Osaka's Eisa festival was created for young workers to resist discrimination and reclaim pride in their roots. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/20/japan/society/okinawa-eisa-festival-osaka/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #okinawa #eisa #dance #discrimination

From Oct. 23, contactless payments will be accepted at the ticket counter for water buffalo cart rides across the shallow sea between the Iriomote and Yubu islands in Okinawa Prefecture. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/15/japan/okinawa-buffalo-contactless/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #tourism #cashless #okinawa

Okinawa Prefecture sweated through its hottest September on record, the Japan Meteorological Agency said on Wednesday, after the entire country experienced its warmest recorded summer. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/01/japan/okinawa-hottest-on-record-september/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #heatwaves #okinawa #meteorologicalagency #climatechange

Amid the rapid rise in Okinawa's youths abusing what's known as "laughing gas vape", the health ministry formally designated a substance found inside the drug called etomidate as a prohibited substance. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/22/japan/okinawa-youth-drug-abuse/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #okinawa #drugs #japanesepolice #gangs #organizedcrime

Don’t be surprised if a bartender recommends you a glass of local rum the next time you are in Okinawa. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/09/12/food-drink/okinawa-rum-trend/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #fooddrink #alcohol #drinking #okinawa #rum

A U.S. Air Force serviceman has appealed to the Supreme Court against a high court ruling upholding a five-year sentence for abducting and sexually assaulting a young girl in Okinawa Prefecture. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/12/japan/crime-legal/okinawa-assault-appeal/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #okinawa #supremecourt #japanesecourts #sexcrimes

A Japanese high court has upheld a five-year prison sentence for a U.S. airman over the kidnap and sexual assault of a girl under the age of consent in Okinawa Prefecture. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/10/japan/okinawa-airman-sexual-assault/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #okinawa #usmilitary #sexcrimes

The Pentagon’s inspector general has begun a review of how U.S. military personnel in Japan complied with policies on preventing and addressing violent crimes after reports of sexual assaults in the country. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/05/japan/pentagon-review-crime-japan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #us #usjapanrelations #japanesecourts #sexcrimes #okinawa

The U.S. Marine Corps has deployed a cutting-edge unmanned surface-to-ship missile system at a base in Okinawa Prefecture since July, sources said Wednesday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/03/japan/us-missile-system-deployed-in-okinawa/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #usbases #missiles #gsdf #okinawa #usjapanrelations #us

Students at Haebaru Junior High School in the town of Haebaru, Okinawa Prefecture, experienced a unique peace-learning workshop about two weeks before Memorial Day marked the end of the 1945 Battle of Okinawa. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/25/japan/okinawa-peace-education/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #okinawa #wwii #students#highschools #juniorhighschools #education

Decades after the end of World War II, Okinawa has become a reluctant host for U.S. troops, with a string of incidents over the years that included sexual assault cases stoking the anger of residents. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/25/japan/society/okinawa-reluctant-host-for-us-bases/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #okinawa#usbases

Okinawa Shogaku High School secured its first-ever Summer Koshien title at the National High School Baseball Championship on Saturday, defeating The Third High School of Nihon University 3-1 in the final. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2025/08/24/baseball/okinawa-school-koshien-title/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #baseball #okinawa#koshien #okinawashogakuhighschool

A memorial ceremony was held Friday to remember the more than 1,400 victims, including many schoolchildren, of the sinking of the Tsushima Maru evacuation ship in a U.S. torpedo attack 81 years ago during World War II. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/22/japan/tsushima-maru-anniversary/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #tsushimamaru #okinawa #wwii #us

A fire on a U.S. Navy ship off Japan was finally put out after 12 hours early Thursday, the U.S. military has said, after local vessels spent most of the night dousing the blaze. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/21/japan/society/navy-ship-fire-japan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #us #okinawa #japancoastguard

The U.S. military will deploy a new short-range air defense system in next month's joint drill with Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force, informed sources said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/21/japan/us-new-air-defense-system-japan-drill/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #usjapanrelations #usmilitary#usbases #sdf #okinawa

Concerns are rising in Okinawa Prefecture over the dwindling number of lawmakers in the ruling LDP who put weight on measures to support the development of the prefecture. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/17/japan/politics/lack-of-okinawa-backers-in-ldp/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #okinawa #usjapanrelations #us #usbases #ldp

Young volunteers and experts are racing against time to recover the remains of Japanese soldiers who died during World War II, most of them abroad. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/15/japan/history/bones-world-war-ii-remains/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #history #worldwarii #india #palau #asiapacific #okinawa