Okinawa Times and Ryukyu Shimpo took up an Okinawa prefectural government announcement on Tuesday regarding the detection of 20 types of chemical substances, including toxic PFAS and DDT, in groundwater collected from the vicinity of MCAS Futenma and three other U.S. installations from FY2019 through 2021. The local authorities reportedly conducted a survey to assess whether there is any environmental….Read more

Okinawa Times led with a report saying that at a prefectural assembly session on Monday, Governor Tamaki announced a plan to conduct the first-ever survey of soil near U.S. bases for possible PFAS contamination. The survey will probably be conducted in the next fiscal year. The paper wrote that although the prefectural government expressed at an assembly committee session last….Read more

Okinawa Times ran an interview with Iha Yoichi, who secured his Upper House seat in the Sunday election with the support of the All-Okinawa Coalition opposing the construction of a “new base” at Henoko. Iha claimed that the election results reflect the Okinawa people’s will to stop the construction. He also said that although the GOJ may want to replace….Read more

On the evening of July 9, a woman in her 50s suffered an injury to her face after being shoved from behind and falling to the ground. The Zushi Police suspected the involvement of a U.S. servicemember affiliated with the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka and questioned him on a voluntary basis, a source close to the matter revealed on….Read more

Mainichi ran a prominent article on the issue of low-altitude flights by U.S. military helicopters over Tokyo, saying that although the GOJ urged the U.S. military to pay consideration to local residents in 2021, complaints are still being made over low-altitude flights and noise pollution within Tokyo’s 23 districts, according to a document drafted by the Ministry of Defense. The….Read more

Okinawa Times and Ryukyu Shimpo reported extensively on the results of the Sunday Upper House election. In the Okinawa electoral district, incumbent Iha Yoichi, an independent supported by the All-Okinawa Coalition opposing the construction of a “new base” at Henoko, was reelected for a second term. Iha, who won 274,235 votes, beat his rival Koja Genta, a 38-year-old newcomer supported….Read more

Okinawa Times and Ryukyu Shimpo wrote that in response to the discovery of what appeared to be a bullet on the premises of a private residence in the Igei district of the town of Kin near Camp Hansen on Thursday, the Marines in Okinawa told the papers on Friday that they have determined that the object in question is unlikely….Read more

By Yamamoto Nobuyuki   A change-of-command ceremony was held  at U.S. Yokosuka Naval Base (Yokosuka City) on July 8. Captain Les Sobol replaced Captain Rich Jarrett as the base’s commander. Captain Jarrett, who had been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic for nearly two years, thanked his colleagues, the Maritime Self-Defense Force, and local governments for “making his mission the best.”….Read more

Asahi reported that what appeared to be a bullet was discovered in the backyard of a private residence in the town of Kin in Okinawa on Thursday morning, saying that the owner of the house found that one of its windows had been broken late Wednesday night. Because the residence is adjacent to Camp Hansen, the police suspect the object….Read more