The official website for this fiscal year’s “Karate Day” commemorative events hosted by the Okinawa Prefecture and ODKS has been launched. The address is https://karate-event.jp/en/
Today, Okinawa newspapers have widely reported on the establishment of the "Okinawa Karate UNESCO Registration Promotion Council". Related information is available on the ODKS website.
The Okinawa Prefecture and ODKS have been working toward this registration since 2017. Following the establishment of a Registration review committee (2018) and a Registration promotion review committee (2019), this year sees the establishment of a Promotion council composed of 41 people of various fields, like the media, education field, etc.
At the press conference, Mr. Sawada, head of the OPG Karate Promotion Division explained that the council will strive to compile a draft by the end of this fiscal year and to submit it to the Council for Cultural Affairs of Japan. After making adjustments, the council will aim for a proposal from the national government to UNESCO in 2022, which marks the 50th anniversary of Okinawa's return to mainland Japan.
Photo (from right to left): Sawada Hayato (head of the Karate promotion division), Toguchi Kazuhiro (head of the OPG Department of culture, Tourism and Sports), Arakaki Kunio (ODKS Rijichō) and Ikemiyagi Masaaki (ODKS Head of the secretariat)
On September 15th, the Okinawa Prefectural Police Academy in Ishikawa City held the first dan grading test for this year. It was held under the supervision of the Okinawa Prefecture Karate Federation.
Training at the academy is directed by Uechi-ryū Kenyūkai Higa Susumu.
All 34 short-term students (including 10 women) succeed in their test and were awarded the Shodan or 1st degree black belt. The test for long-term students (other than university graduate) is scheduled for November.
More on this matter at this page.
With the cancellation of the emergency declaration (until September 5th), the Okinawa Karate Kaikan is open from September 6th (Sun). However, only exclusive use is possible (the shared use of facilities is not possible for the time being)
The use of the Okinawa Prefectural Budōkan arena, Rensei dōjō and training room is still being restricted.
As for our center’s coordination services, we will handle each inquiry case by case as many dōjō refrain from welcoming visiting martial artists due to the covid-19 pandemic.
The Okinawa Prefecture Government has issued an “Emergency Declaration” on July 31st. On August 28th, the period of this emergency situation was extended to September 5th. During the period, the prefecture requests refraining from nonessential and non-urgent outings and travels.
Therefore, our information center will suspend its coordination work until September 6th. From Monday, September 7th, ｗe will re-determine the start of our activities based on the covid-19 pandemic situation in Okinawa.