World News by Wild Rose

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Oct. 7 (Jiji Press)--The U.S. military in Okinawa Prefecture has said that all U.S. troops stationed in the southernmost Japan prefecture will observe a 48-hour operational pause from noon Wednesday, following the alleged murder of a local woman by a Marine, who was arrested Sunday. The personnel are prohibited from leaving their bases in the prefecture and consuming al...

Tokyo, Oct. 6 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Tuesday that he will meet with Okinawa Governor Genta Koja on Wednesday, following the arrest of a U.S. Marine on suspicion of robbery and murder in the southern Japan prefecture. Koizumi and Koja are expected to discuss measures to prevent a recurrence, planning to ask the U.S. side to take necessary steps. Devi...

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Oct. 5 (Jiji Press)--Okinawa Governor Genta Koja summoned Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, head of U.S. forces in Japan, to the prefectural government office to protest the arrest of a Marine on suspicion of murdering a woman in the southern Japan prefecture. Koja said that the incident caused "great anxiety" among local residents and was "absolutely unacceptable," and demande...

Tokyo, Oct. 5 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Monday that her government has strongly protested to the U.S. side over the arrest of a U.S. Marine in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on suspicion of murder and robbery. The government also pressed the United States for cooperation in the investigation, a review of discipline involving U.S. military personnel, and ...

Tokyo, Oct. 4 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Sunday described as "deeply regrettable" the occurrence of a murder-robbery case in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, that led to the arrest of a U.S. Marine stationed at the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in the southernmost Japan prefecture. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Takaichi called the incident "extremely bruta...

A flight bound for Okinawa returned to Hong Kong airport on Sunday morning after its landing gear was suspected to have failed to fully retract after take-off. Hong Kong Airlines said the crew of flight HX676, which departed at 8.57am, decided to return to ensure flight safety, in line with standard procedures. “[The flight] encountered a suspected incomplete landing gear retraction issue after take-off,” the airline said. The aircraft landed safely at 10am, with no injuries reported on board....

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)--New Okinawa Governor Genta Koja urged the Japanese government on Wednesday to give sufficient explanation about its defense buildup in the country's southwest. "I will not unconditionally accept" the defense buildup in the region, including his southern prefecture, Koja said in an inaugural press conference at his office in Naha, Okinawa's capital. ...

Manila, Sept. 21 (Jiji Press)--A 90-year-old second-generation Japanese woman born in the Philippines who was separated from her father after World War II is planning to visit his native Okinawa Prefecture in southernmost Japan for the first time by the end of this year. Adelaida Kakazu is searching with the help of a support group for relatives in Japan, hoping to meet them during the trip...

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)--Almost all reposts of an online post containing false information about Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, who failed to secure re-election in Sunday's gubernatorial race, were made by social media users outside the southernmost Japan prefecture, an analysis showed Wednesday. The false X post made at around 10 a.m. on July 26 claimed that Tamaki had decided to relo...

Tokyo, Sept. 14 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government reiterated on Monday that relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to the Henoko district of Nago in the southwestern Japan prefecture is "the only viable solution" to problems involving the military base. "We will do our best in reducing burdens from military bases on local residents," Chief ...

Genta Koja beat two-term incumbent Denny Tamaki, who wants a major US military base to be moved out of Okinawa.

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Sept. 13 (Jiji Press)--Genta Koja won a gubernatorial election in Okinawa Prefecture on Sunday, meaning that the southernmost Japan prefecture will have a leader tolerant of the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station within Okinawa for the first time in 12 years. The 42-year-old former deputy mayor of Naha, Okinawa's capital, who was supported by conse...