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Aug. 21, 2014 - Aug. 27, 2014 www.japanupdate.com ¥150 Fantastic Okinawa Local News Classifieds Okinawan Culture Weather JU Weekly Raffle Events this week English Lesson Horoscope Recipe Fantastic Okinawa Futenma move Godzilla and friends celebrate at Tomarin exhibition By Bill Charles V irtually everyone has encountered Godzilla, Ultraman, Evangelion or Hokuto-no-Ken, and now the company that created them is showing off their works at an Okinawa exhibition. The Kaiyodo Figure Exhibition is being staged through September 9th at the Tomarin Building, adjacent to Tomari Port in Naha, showing off the Kaiyodo company’s oldest and highest quality figures. It’s all a part of Kaiyodo’s 50th anniversary cele- bration, running 10 a.m. ~ 6 p.m. daily. Advance adult tickets are ¥700, or ¥800 at the door. Kids 6-15 pay ¥300 for an advance ticket, or shell out ¥400 at the Tomarine door. Kaiyodo Co. is the most famous figurine production company in Japan, turning out the highest quality Japanese animation and movie fig- ures in the world. Japanese animation or figure skills are considered the best in the world, and lots of fun to see and appreciate. Kaiyodo skills and craftsman- ship are really beyond the imagina- tion, and being able to see the created figures not only from Japanese ani- mation companies, but also from British museums and really big names in the world of animation, are reasons to take a few hours to peruse the Kaiyodo creations. This is a very rare opportunity to see Kaiyodo’s work in Okinawa, right before the visitor’ s eyes. Everyone interested in figurines should visit before the event ends September 7th F earful of increased local opposi- tion to the relocation of Futenma Marine Corps Air Station, a U.S. congressional think tank is speaking out to both Japanese and American government officials warning them to be careful how they deal with the project. The Congressional Research Service has been observing reports of increased opposition to the Futenma relocation from Ginowan City to north- ern Okinawa, and is expressing con- cerns those protests could increase in the future. Accordingly, the Service is telling officials of both nations “Any heavy-handed actions by Tokyo or Washington could lead to stridently anti-base politicians making gains in Okinawa, particularly in the gubernato- rial election scheduled for November.” The upcoming election finds Governor Hirokazu Nakaima, who late last year approved the land reclamation process necessary to create the new air- field in Oura Bay adjacent to Camp Schwab, announcing plans to run for a third term. Political observers say Nakaima’s taking the unprecedented election move at age 74 to preserve the base relocation project. His principal opponent is Naha City Mayor Takeshi Onaga, who is firmly opposed to any new bases being built or relocated on Okinawa. Also in the running is inde- pendent politician and lawmaker Mikio Shimoji, who seeks to have the base relocation issue be settled by a referen- dum. Nakaima’s decision to grant the landfill permits for the base relocation also brought comments from the Congressional Research Service, which said “The United States and Japan cleared an important political hurdle in their long-delayed plan to relocate the Futenma base, but despite this progress, many challenges remain to implementa- tion.” The think tank researchers note “most Okinawans oppose the construc- tion of a new U.S. base for a mix of political, environmental and quality-of- life reasons.” The Congressional Research Service concedes that “ Now that Nakaima has approved the landfill per- mit, it is unclear what authority any future governor would have to overturn this decision,” adding, though, that “some observers suggest that a future governor could reject the approval on grounds the environmental impact assessment of the base site was incor- rect.” A big issue looming before the Japanese government is Nakaima’s demand that Futenma cease operations within five years, and that the Status of Forces Agreement between the United States and Japan be modified to permit on-base environmental investigations by prefectural officials. The Congressional Research Service believes “the extent to which the Japanese government can meet Nakaima’s demands will likely influence how Okinawans ultimately will judge his approval of the landfill permit.” Okinawa City plans Eisa Hall to Goya Intersection area The Okinawa City Basic Plan for Town Development includes a plan to build an Eisa hall, tentatively named “Young Eisa Hall,” at the area around Goya intersection. The plan envisions a place for visitors to enjoy Eisa shows and also join the dance experience. The city plans to make the hall a major tourist spot throughout the year. Okinawa City declared itself the ‘Eisa Town’ in 2007, and also created official mascots ‘Ei-bo’ and ‘Sa-chan’, and have placed stat- Continues on page 4 Godzilla and other famous Japanese manga and animation characters are on exhibition at Tomarin through Sep. 7th. Japan hears U.S. cautions over handling Futenma
