Okinawa Times Co., Ltd.

In accordance with the national policy of having one newspaper per prefecture, the three newspapers Okinawa Asahi Shimbun, Okinawa Nippo, and Ryukyu Shimpo (a different newspaper from the current Ryukyu Shimpo) were merged. The paper was published as the only local newspaper.

Publication continued even amid the Battle of Okinawa, but the newspaper ceased publication.

The U.S. military approved the publication of "Okinawa Times".

Issued a special edition of "Okinawa Times" covering the currency conversion scoop.

Okinawa Times made a rare start in the history of Japanese newspapers by publishing an extra edition before its inaugural issue. The 6,000 copies of the extra edition were distributed free of charge in Naha and other parts of central and southern Okinawa, gathering children from the surrounding areas to hand them out.

"Okinawa Times" founded.

Published the inaugural issue of Okinawa Times. In his “Message on the Founding,” President Choko Takamine expressed his hope that the newspaper would grow in step with Okinawa’s recovery and fully fulfill its mission.

Completed a prefabricated building across from Sōgenji Temple.

Transitioned from Gari-plate printing to typesetting printing.

Held the first Okinawa Art Exhibition (Oki Exhibition).

Published the first trade paperback "Iron Storm".

Started the morning-evening edition set system.

Held the first new talent entertainment festival.

First Okinawa Times Award presentation ceremony.

Relocation to the Kumochi building completed.

"Current Affairs Manga" by local manga artist Yūfū Watarikashiki begins.

“Current Affairs in Cartoons” (now “Current Affairs Cartoon Commentary”) by local manga artist Tadao Tokashiki began.

During the 'Midori Maru Incident', rescued lives while reporting and captured the only underwater photo. Received a special award from the Japan Newspaper Association the following year.

Established the Okinawa Times Art Award.

Founded the quarterly 'New Okinawan Literature' (ceased in 1993).

Published Tatsuhiko Oshiro’s “Cocktail Party” in issue 4 of New Okinawan Literature. In July, it became the first work from Okinawa to receive the Akutagawa Prize.

The Okinawa Political and Economic Forum was established.

The resident-perspective 'Toxic Gas Transport Report' won the Japan Journalists Association Encouragement Award.

The Iha Fuyu Prize was established.

TWA crash occurred. The European industry inspection team sponsored by the headquarters, including President Kazushi Ujii, died in the crash.

10,000th issue

Established the Okinawa Times Publishing Culture Award to promote publishing activities and enhance publishing culture in Okinawa. The first award went to Shizen-shi of the Ryukyus, edited and written by Koshiro Kizaki; Education in Okinawa During Wartime by Hideki Nishihira; and Wandering and Starvation by Heiichi Shinjo. Iejima Village History and Onna Village History were selected for special awards. The presentation ceremony was held on December 17.

Okinawa Times Publishing Culture Award established

Lead-type printing discontinued

Transition to a computer-based newspaper typesetting system

A newly discovered bird species found on Mount Yonaha in Kunigami Village is named the Okinawa rail

30,000 copies of the Okinawa Encyclopedia published

An ultra-high-speed multicolor Metro offset rotary press began operating. With a printing speed of 145,000 copies per hour, it could print 24-page newspapers with four single-color spot-color pages.

A printing center is completed in Kumoji, and a high-speed, multicolor Metro offset rotary press begins operation

A printing center was completed in Kumoji, and a Metro offset rotary press capable of ultra-high-speed multicolor printing began operating.

Tsuboya ware artist Jiro Kinjo is designated a Living National Treasure (the first in the prefecture)

Okinawa regional edition of Nikkan Sports printed and published

The exhibition “Living National Treasure: The World of Jiro Kinjo, Master of Ryukyuan Pottery” was held at Times Hall from June 10 to 14 and at the Yomitan Village General Welfare Center in the artist’s hometown from June 17 to 20. The exhibition, which brought together around 250 works, including previously unseen pieces, was well received.

The first NAHA Marathon is held

The first NAHA Marathon, the first full-scale citizen marathon in the prefecture, started in front of Daitokuji Temple in Matsuyama, Naha. A total of 4,503 people entered, far exceeding the 2,000 initially expected, and 4,301 finished.

42nd National Sports Festival 'Haibang National Sports Festival' Summer Tournament (9/20-23) Autumn Tournament (10/25-30)

The first Okinawa Prefecture Total Living Show is held

In a feature published on the same day, founding member and adviser Yoshiaki Toyohira said, “The founders of the Okinawa Times secretly talked together while prisoners of war, reflected on the past in turn, and planned to start a newspaper. They resolved that the foundation for Okinawa’s revival lay in ‘freedom of the press’ and, overcoming every hardship, set their founding ambitions in motion, finally bringing the first issue of the Okinawa Times into being, printed on a mimeograph (…). Immediately after the war, when Okinawa was cut off from our homeland, Japan, and people lived under strict military rule, ‘Okinawa’s autonomy’ was adopted as a founding principle of the Okinawa Times alongside ‘freedom of the press.’ Okinawa’s unique history shaped a distinct Okinawan journalistic philosophy that made Okinawan autonomy its motto. Seeking the liberation of Okinawa’s politics, economy, and culture—and the autonomy of Okinawa and its people—after discrimination by mainland Japan before the war and domination by the U.S. military government after the war, the paper renewed historical understanding of Okinawa, encouraged the revival of its distinctive customs, performing arts, and folk crafts, fostered the flowering of art and literature, and reported and editorialized on the severe distortions in politics and the economy with Okinawan autonomy as its guiding principle.”

Held the first Okinawa Prefecture Total Living Show.

Susumu Inamine, who opposes relocating Futenma Air Station to Henoko, is elected mayor of Nago

An article reporting that Susumu Inamine, who campaigned against the Henoko relocation, won the Nago mayoral election. The election was held on January 24, 2010. Incumbent Yoshikazu Shimabukuro, who had reached a basic agreement with the government on building a V-shaped runway along the coast at Henoko in Nago, faced newcomer Susumu Inamine, who opposed the relocation to Henoko. Inamine defeated Shimabukuro by 1,588 votes and was elected.

A special evening edition reporting on the damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake. As the extent of the damage and the nuclear accident continued to change by the minute, the newspaper produced special evening editions for rapid reporting, publishing a four-page edition every day from the 14th through the 19th and delivering them to subscribers.

Implemented the CTP system that directly embeds transmitted print data onto the printed edition, resulting in clearer photos and text.

Implemented paper wrapping for the first time in a newsprint, announcing Ikenami High School's first spring-summer consecutive championship in the prefecture at the 92nd National High School Baseball Championship.

For the first time outside of advertising, the newspaper reported Konan High School’s historic achievement of winning both the spring and summer baseball championships with a “wraparound” edition. It was published wrapped around the regular paper, with an extra-large photo on the front and photos and comments from each player on the back.

The Great East Japan Earthquake strikes

The Great East Japan Earthquake struck at 2:46 p.m. With a magnitude of 9.0, it was the largest earthquake ever recorded in and around Japan. It generated massive tsunami waves more than 10 meters high and caused enormous loss of life, with 18,432 people dead or missing, mainly in the Tohoku region (as of September 10, 2018). The Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Fukushima Prefecture was damaged and lost power, preventing the reactors from being cooled. Core meltdowns occurred in three reactors, resulting in a severe accident in which large amounts of radioactive material were released into the environment.

In connection with the Great East Japan Earthquake, four-page “Special Evening Editions” are published and delivered daily through the 10th

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University opens. Thirty-four students from 18 countries and regions enroll

Okinawa residents’ rally opposing the deployment of Ospreys

The four-panel comic strip “Obā Times” begins daily serialization on the social pages

The first Hometown Revitalization Support Project, “Ie Island Performing Arts and Local Products Fair,” is held

At the Tokyo action opposing Ospreys, representatives from all 41 municipalities voice opposition to the deployment

The Shimakutuba newspaper Uchinā Times was founded

Launch of the digital newspaper 'Okinawa Times + Plus'.

Governor Hirokazu Nakaima approved the Henoko landfill project

Okinawa Mitsukoshi closed

Disseminated messages from the war era both in print and online.

The 70th anniversary of the end of the war project, “Messages from the Battlefield,” was presented in print and online

“As the firsthand voices of the generation that experienced the war grow fainter by the day, reporters in their 20s to 40s should listen to and record as many testimonies as possible.” With this aim, an eight-part, four-page series ran through September 7, 2015. The digital division also pursued ways to convey the reality of the Battle of Okinawa through digital content. In collaboration with the GIS Okinawa Research Laboratory, it created “Gushichan Village: The Missing Chapters of the Battle of Okinawa.” This effort led to “The Digital Archive of the Battle of Okinawa: Messages from the War Years,” a project linked to the newspaper series, which went online on June 19, 2015.

Takeshi Onaga, who opposed construction of a new base in Henoko, was elected governor of Okinawa

A newspaper page reporting that Takeshi Onaga won the gubernatorial election. Onaga, the former mayor of Naha, ran on an anti-Henoko relocation platform against incumbent Governor Hirokazu Nakaima, who had approved the reclamation of the waters off Henoko. Onaga’s campaign, calling itself “All Okinawa,” brought together the progressive parties SDP, Okinawa Social Mass Party, and Japanese Communist Party, along with most of the conservative Naha city council members and several major corporate groups. Onaga won his first term by a wide margin of about 100,000 votes over Nakaima.

70th anniversary of the post-war era.

AEON MALL Okinawa Rycom, the prefecture’s largest shopping mall by floor area, opened

Aeon Mall Okinawa Rycom opened on the 25th at the former U.S. military Awase Golf Course site in Kitanakagusuku Village. Coinciding with the first day of Golden Week, it was bustling all day with large numbers of shoppers and families.

The Okinawa Children's Future Project was established

A former U.S. Marine was arrested in connection with the assault and murder of a woman

A prefectural rally was held to mourn the victim and call for the withdrawal of the Marines

The prefectural rally was held on the 19th at the athletics stadium in Onoyama Park, drawing 65,000 people (according to the organizers) to mourn the victim. The Okinawa Times published an edition wrapped in a timeline titled “Life and Dignity—We Won’t Let Them Be Taken Away Anymore.” It listed more than 620 incidents involving U.S. military personnel, including rape and murder, murder, fatal traffic accidents, and rape, from the U.S. landing in 1945 through 2016. The wraparound made visible the sacrifices endured by Okinawans because of the concentration of U.S. military bases.

Launch of the crowdfunding site Link-U.

A U.S. military Osprey belonging to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma crashed off the coast of Abe, Nago City

An Osprey crashed off the coast of Abe, Nago. The aircraft was destroyed, and two of its five crew members were injured. It was the first serious accident involving injuries since the aircraft was deployed in Japan, and it shocked Okinawans who had opposed the Osprey deployment. In response, Governor Onaga demanded an immediate halt to flights and the withdrawal of the aircraft. The Japanese government also called for flights to be suspended until the cause was determined and safety confirmed. The U.S. military, however, maintained that it “should be appreciated that no harm was done to residents or homes,” and resumed flights in full six days after the accident, on the 19th.

Launch of 'Weekly Okinawa Karate'.

Anticipating growing interest in karate, the newspaper launched “Weekly Okinawa Karate.”

Landfill work began for construction of a new base in Henoko, Nago City

An article reporting the results of a public opinion survey in which 61% of Okinawans opposed construction of the new base in Henoko. The Okinawa Defense Bureau began seawall construction, a prerequisite for land reclamation. A survey conducted by the Okinawa Times, the Asahi Shimbun, and Ryukyu Asahi Broadcasting found that 61% opposed construction of the new base in Henoko, far exceeding the 23% who supported it. The results were published in that day’s newspaper.

Golfer Ai Miyazato retired

Ai Miyazato, a former world No. 1 in women’s golf who was born in Higashi Village, retired from competition on September 17. She made waves in the golf world, including by becoming the youngest amateur ever to win a professional tour event in 2003, when she was a third-year high school student.

The Okinawa Times Traditional Performing Arts Selection Committee and Selected Performing Arts Festival received the Excellence Award (Shimanchu Heart and Skill Award) at the 2017 Mecenat Awards.

The Okinawa Times Traditional Performing Arts Selection and Showcase received the Mécénat Award for Excellence

A window from a U.S. military CH-53E heavy-lift helicopter fell onto the playground of Futenma Daini Elementary School in Ginowan City

A window from a CH-53E heavy-lift helicopter based at Futenma Air Station fell onto the schoolyard of Ginowan Municipal Futenma Daini Elementary School while a physical education class was in progress. The window measured about 90 centimeters square and weighed about 8 kilograms. A pupil who was a dozen or so meters from where it landed complained of pain after the wind from its fall blew it into the pupil’s left elbow. The incident, which threatened the safety of children, intensified public anger in Okinawa.

Kazuhiko Taketomi became president.

Co-founded and invested with Maschigura Co., Ltd., which is involved in the operation and development of shared offices, establishing Maschigura Okinawa Times Co., Ltd.

Jointly invested with Massigura Co., Ltd. to establish Massigura Okinawa Times Co., Ltd.

Okinawa Times celebrates its 70th anniversary.

Published a special 70th-anniversary supplement, “70 Years Walking Alongside the People of Okinawa.”

The exhibition “namie amuro Final Space,” tracing Namie Amuro’s quarter-century career ahead of her retirement, was held

Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga died

Singer Namie Amuro retired

In a prefectural referendum on the proposed landfill off Henoko, Nago City, required to build a new U.S. military base, “opposition” accounted for 71.7% of all votes cast

Shuri Castle’s main buildings, including the Seiden, were destroyed by fire

Opening of the co-working space 'howlive'.

COVID-19 spread

Naha Airport's second runway opened.

Launch of the 'Okinawa Shima Dabi' obituary alert app service.

The article “Shuri Castle Fire: Okinawa’s Symbol Reduced to Ashes” won the Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association Award.

The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games were held in August and September.

Launch of the internet voice distribution service 'Sakutto Okinawa'.

“Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, the northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island” were inscribed as a World Natural Heritage site.

Sachiko Miyagi, an adviser to the Shindō-ryū school of Ryukyuan dance, and Fusako Shida, head of the Jūdō-ryū school of Ryukyuan dance, were designated holders of Important Intangible Cultural Properties (Living National Treasures) in the Ryukyuan dance category.

The new rotary machine has started, enabling up to 32 pages of color printing.

Timeline of major incidents and accidents by U.S. military personnel, wrapped on the newspaper on the day of the Prefectural Citizens' Assembly = June 19, 2016

In the Okinawa Times, titled "Lives and Dignity – No Longer to Be Taken", the newspaper was wrapped with a timeline of over 620 incidents involving U.S. military personnel from 1945 to 2016, including "rape and murder", "murder", "traffic deaths", and "rape", visualizing the sacrifices of Okinawan people due to the concentration of U.S. military bases.

Nansei, an information services company, became a fully owned subsidiary. Initiated digitalization of analog content.

Made Nansei a subsidiary. The Okinawa Times Company will use Nansei’s digital archiving technology to digitize analog content, including old photographs owned by the company. This was the Okinawa Times Company’s first acquisition of an outside company through an M&A.