Leaders of drive for Okinawa independence stand by U.S. base

Leaders of drive for Okinawa independence stand by U.S. base

TOKYO, Japan - Yasukatsu Matsushima (L) and Shinako Oyakawa, founders of a study group over Okinawa's independence from Japan, stand by the U.S. Kadena Air Base in the southernmost Japanese prefecture in this file photo taken on Oct. 13, 2014. (Photo by Toshiki Makino)

Okinawa lawmakers demand measures against U.S. bases

Okinawa lawmakers demand measures against U.S. bases

TOKYO, Japan - Seiichi Oyakawa (2nd from R), an Okinawa Prefectural Assembly member and chairman of the assembly's special committee on U.S. bases, hands a paper to Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba (3rd from R) in Tokyo on Feb. 18, calling for effective measures to prevent recurrence of criminal cases by U.S. bases' staff. Oyakawa met Ishiba following the arrest Feb. 11 of a 38-year-old Marine staff sergeant based at Camp Courtney in the prefecture on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old girl the previous day.

Okinawa lawmakers demand measures against U.S. bases

Okinawa lawmakers demand measures against U.S. bases

TOKYO, Japan - Seiichi Oyakawa (2nd from R), an Okinawa Prefectural Assembly member and chairman of the assembly's special committee on U.S. bases, hands a paper to Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba (3rd from R) in Tokyo on Feb. 18, calling for effective measures to prevent recurrence of criminal cases by U.S. bases' staff. Oyakawa met Ishiba following the arrest Feb. 11 of a 38-year-old Marine staff sergeant based at Camp Courtney in the prefecture on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old girl the previous day. (Kyodo)

Leaders of drive for Okinawa independence stand by U.S. base

Leaders of drive for Okinawa independence stand by U.S. base

TOKYO, Japan - Yasukatsu Matsushima (L) and Shinako Oyakawa, founders of a study group over Okinawa's independence from Japan, stand by the U.S. Kadena Air Base in the southernmost Japanese prefecture in this file photo taken on Oct. 13, 2014. (Photo by Toshiki Makino) (Kyodo)

Activist speaks up for Okinawa

Activist speaks up for Okinawa

Activist Shinako Oyakawa speaks to reporters at the U.N. headquarters in New York on April 20, 2018. The Okinawa University lecturer used her first appearance at a U.N. gathering to highlight Okinawan issues in the context of a broader struggle for the rights of indigenous people around the world. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Olympic scenes: Japanese-Brazilian bronze medalist in floor exercise

Olympic scenes: Japanese-Brazilian bronze medalist in floor exercise

Arthur Nory Oyakawa Mariano, a third-generation Japanese-Brazilian, wins the bronze medal in men's floor exercise at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Aug. 14, 2016. He says Japan's all-round individual gold medalist Kohei Uchikawa is his hero. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo