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Kumiodori is a Japanese performing art found on the Okinawa islands.
UNESCO: Culture
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It is taking place off Okinawa, north of islands both Japan and China claim.
BBC: US and Japan begin military drills amid China tension
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Xinhua and the People's Daily Overseas Edition condemn authorities in Okinawa for including the disputed islands in Japan's application for Unesco World Natural Heritage status for the Amami and Ryukyu Islands.
BBC: China media: Housing law anger
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This week the SDF and U.S. Navy and Air Force launched a massive 16-day joint exercise off the southern islands of Kyushu and Okinawa involving 47, 000 men (10, 000 Americans), 30 ships, a U.S. carrier, and 240 aircraft.
FORBES: Is Japan Risking War to Save the U.S.-Japan Alliance?
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Meanwhile, academics tell China Daily that Japan has "overreacted" by protesting against a People's Daily article questioning Japan's sovereignty over Okinawa and demanding the return of disputed islands known as the Senkakus in Japan and the Diaoyus in China.
BBC: China media: Boat attack condemned
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The row over ownership of the islands, which lie south of Okinawa and north of Taiwan, has been rumbling for years.
BBC: China anger at US remarks on East China Sea islands
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The strong winds associated with Typhoon Melor have already left over ten thousand homes without electricity in Okinawa, Amami-Oshima and other southern islands.
BBC: Weather - Melor affects the south of Japan
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Also, in the August 2009 elections, Denny Tamaki, a former radio deejay with a fondness for rock-and-roll, won a seat in the Lower House, representing a district in Naha, the capital of Okinawa prefecture, located south of the main Japanese islands.
FORBES: When Japan's Leaders Have Ties To Other Nations
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About half of all US troops based in Japan are stationed in Okinawa, which lies south of Japan's main islands in the East China Sea.
BBC: US troops held over Okinawa alleged rape
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The islands, which are controlled by Japan, lie south of Okinawa and north of Taiwan.
BBC: Chinese boat ��illegally fishing in Japanese waters��
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Taiwan was handed back to China at the end of the second world war, but the islands remained under the control of the Americans, who administered them as part of the Okinawa island chain.
ECONOMIST: A row over disputed islands goes from bad to worse