We put the Nago R4 PAS 3DMSS through its paces – and yes you’ll definitely want to stay seated The futuristic design leaves a strong impression right from the get-go Prologo rely on their in-house MyOwn Pressure Map analysis This system uses 50 sensors spread across the saddle’s surface to measure the rider’s pressure distribution resulting in significant weight savings on what is already one of the lightest components on your bike The 3D-printed seating area is mounted on the carbon rails and creates the critical contact point between rider and bike it’s worth noting that high-oval saddle clamps are essential for installation The 3D printing process allows for varying levels of softness and firmness in different zones determined by the density of the honeycomb structure Prologo’s MSS (Multi Sector System) sets it apart from competitors it feels a bit like you’re breaking in a new sofa: firmer than expected but with a surprisingly compliant structure This flexibility means you’ll need to raise your saddle height by 1 to 2 mm to avoid sitting too low and vary from rider to rider depending on riding style and position The saddle features five zones with varying levels of firmness sitting on the nose of the saddle was surprisingly comfortable – which is rare with traditional saddles that often become unbearable after a few hours at race pace The damping properties and firmness change across the saddle with the central section being notably softer and thinner than the rear the cut-out in the middle provides extra relief in the soft tissue area Prologo’s thoughtful design delivers a comfortable ride especially for those who demand performance without compromising on support during long efforts The Prologo Nago R4 3DMSS really shows its strengths on longer rides (130 km +) and multi-hour outings on less-than-perfect surfaces The combination of carbon’s natural damping properties and the proprietary 3D-printed structure soaks up bumps and vibrations with ease This makes the saddle not only ideal for traditional road bikes but also a great option for tackling rougher terrain the damping performance can vary depending on the type of bib shorts and the padding they feature making sure you avoid excessive bouncing and maintain consistent power transfer – a common issue with overly-soft saddles that flex too much under pressure Rubber surfaces often have a tendency to get slippery in wet conditions and with sweat buildups but our experience over countless rainy rides during the festive season revealed quite the opposite keeping you securely in place without slipping around This was also the case during intense indoor turbo trainer sessions When paired with a cooling fan to replicate outdoor airflow the saddle prevented the dreaded “swampy backside” scenario meaning that the skin stayed dry and didn’t soften the Nago R4 PAS 3DMSS delivers not only impressive comfort on long challenging rides but also practical performance in wet and sweaty conditions – perfect for roadies looking for all-round reliability lightweight saddle that uses cutting-edge technology to squeeze out every last drop of performance and comfort the Prologo Nago R4 3DMSS is a perfect fit Weight weenies and bike aesthetes alike will love it – though that level of sophistication doesn’t come cheap there’s one key factor: your pelvis anatomy needs to suit the non-customisable shape of the Nago R4 3DMSS even the most advanced tech in the world won’t save you from discomfort the five comfort zones deliver a noticeable boost in support without compromising power transfer The saddle’s versatility is another big plus Whether you’re grinding on gravel or cruising on smooth tarmac the Prologo Nago R4 3DMSS performs across a range of terrains it’s a guaranteed head-turner on any group ride – a true standout piece that makes a statement Instead of a ticket from the fashion police Did you enjoy this article? If so, we would be stoked if you decide to support us with a monthly contribution. By becoming a supporter of GRAN FONDO, you will help secure a sustainable future for high-quality cycling journalism. Click here to learn more Jan Richter Photos: Jan Richter Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website Statistics cookies collect information anonymously This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website We use the providers & cookies in this category for targeting our readers (e.g These cookies are used by third-party vendors or publishers to display personalized ads and/or measure the success of ads They do this by tracking visitors across websites Nago Castle Park is a hot spot for cherry blossom-viewing in the winter as thousands of visitors come to enjoy the pink blush flowers After watching Japanese TV show Nihon Hyaku Teizan (100 low/small mountains in Japan) spotlight Nago-dake I made a plan to head to this mountain to enjoy early fall in October about 20-meters shorter than Onna-dake in Onna Village Though Nato-Dake may not be known for reaching high places I knew there were serval parking spots available While some of them were located at the bottom of Nago-dake others were close to the mid-section of the mountain Trying to make the climbing route as short as possible which left me three options: an observatory on the north side Each parking spot offered different climbing routes with different challenges The one that starts from the north observatory was mostly a paved road while the other two cut through forested areas Since I wanted to experience the deep forest landscape After checking in and receiving a map of the mountain at the youth center I headed to the start of the trail from a nearby camping ground shortly before 11 a.m I enjoyed a moderate hike with slightly mountainous where climbers are faced with some challenges Nago-dake seemed to be very much part of the well-maintained public park Walking on the road felt more like a picnic than mountain climbing The buzzing of cicadas reverberated here and there I was under the impression that the summer was still lingering but I soon discerned the buzzing with a metallic sound that is specific to ooshimazemi (meimuna oshimensis) a type of cicada telling of autumn’s arrival on the island had many brown leaves and no lingering summer flowers signage will tell you where to go including the number to match to the point at your trail map a “12” meant I could head up one direction to the peak or a different way to connect to a route going north picking the right one to the top seemed easy I noticed my mistake and was able to correct it before going too far From trail markers “11” to “10,” the slope When I reached “10,” I found myself on top of a ridge where I could take a good look at the landscape surrounding the mountain for the first time and felt like I was at the summit I had to go down steep stairs before going up a final slope to the top Without any thick foliage to block the sunlight hitting the last stretch of the climbing route a sign that read “名護岳山頂 標高 三四五M (The summit of Nago-dake altitude of 345 m) finally came into my sight I was not expecting a view much different from the one I saw at number “10.” But as soon as I reached the top From the east to the northern forest to the west coast it was a panoramic view I had never seen before in Okinawa On the island where thick shrubs often ruin the view from mountains The superb landscape was definitely worth all the sweat Reaching the summit was a highlight for sure I chose a different route from the one I had gone up Going down from “9” to “8” would take me to a paved road for an easy return The slope I chose to go down turned out to be quite steep I could have fallen for 10 meters or even more it was still a long walk back to the youth center but the path was full of all kinds of butterflies and ferns making it feel like a victory lap after conquering the mountain and surviving the steep downhill unscathed The views and easy challenges of Nago-dake made for a nice change of pace to kick off the fall season Nago-dake is a fun place to enjoy the great outdoors at your own speed Read now > Sign up for our weekly newsletter of articles from Japan but that’s pretty much the end of the common ground in this political landscape.  Richard Wiens is an editor at large for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at rwiens@civilbeat.org Scott Nago has been running Hawaii elections since 2010 hundreds of uncounted Maui votes in 2014 and tropical storm-related confusion affecting the primary voting on the Big Island that same year But election controversy has reached a whole new level in the Trump era In an interview edited for length and clarity Nago talks about what’s new this election year including the wave of suspicion about whether elections are conducted properly here This is the first year that your office is producing an online voters guide we’ve been preparing the voter guide The guide is being translated into Chinese was making it interactive so voters can actually go to our website type in their home address and candidates on their specific ballot will pop up for them That way they won’t have to wade through all the candidates that aren’t on their ballot Can people request paper copies of the guide So you’re going to have to download a PDF copy of the entire guide but then you can type in your address and see the candidates that will appear on your ballot This will be the third election cycle involving all-mail balloting in Hawaii The last time we had a polling place election was in 2018 And even then more voters actually used absentee ballots than voted in person on Election Day You have to go back to 2010 to find a time when more people voted on Election Day in person So it wasn’t as big of an undertaking as one would think more people have been voting by mail.  There’s different factors that go into turnout 2020 was the first time we’ve conducted all-mail voting in Hawaii and it just so happened to be the highest turnout But I don’t know if I could attribute that to vote-by-mail It does take a lot to stay on top of it all But I think we can all agree that this controversy is a nationwide trend especially since this is a presidential election What we’re seeing on the mainland as far as criticism of election officials is the same thing you’re seeing here I would say that was not the case four years ago What you saw on the mainland wasn’t necessarily translating to what was happening here what you see on the news happening on the mainland as far as it relates to voting and election officials being intimidated because that’s just not what I thought would ever happen here Do you foresee making any change in the auditing procedure The audit is actually there to confirm the election process So it simply alerts election officials whether or not the system is working properly We have to conduct the audit prior to certifying the election the audit itself is not the final certification of elections and the voters still have the ability to file a challenge if they still do not believe in the elections Clearly the state Republican Party doesn’t like how these audits are happening Is the process really any different with digital images of the paper ballots instead of the paper ballots themselves They’re exact replicas of the paper ballots When we went through the audit process in 2022 some of the official observers asked to see the actual paper ballots in some cases When we pulled up the actual paper ballot — because we we can track the actual paper ballot and go back to it — it was exactly the same as how it showed up on screen So it’s really an exact replica of the paper ballot and it just allows us to conduct the audit faster If we did conduct the audit with all paper ballots people would question what’s going on there Is it fair to say you’re going to be looking at this same landscape for the foreseeable future We’re just concentrating on providing the election services to the voters and ensure that people have access to voting and providing that if they want to vote they can vote and just providing that service all we are really focused on is conducting a secure And that will be the same for all future elections “To label them as corrupt just because you don’t believe in election results that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.” How is all this skepticism playing out for for you and your office It’s just something that we have to deal with One of the issues is there’s a lot of disinformation So we would have to actually work to correct that disinformation making sure that the correct information is out there making sure to remind voters that if they want to get the most accurate election information because there is a lot of mistrust and bad information out there The elections are much bigger than just this office or the county clerks’ offices A lot of them have been doing it a lot longer than I have because they believe in doing the right thing And then to see their integrity questioned … These are people that are in the community These are people you maybe go to church with or you see them in the supermarket To label them as corrupt just because you don’t believe in election results Is the “noise” affecting your ability to sign up volunteers but it does have the potential to affect it You’ve seen on the mainland where Election Day officials have been targeted We don’t need as many anymore since we don’t have all the polling places A lot of the volunteers are in their 70s or 80s now What about the other employees in your office you have a lot of experience now in this role How does that affect some of your employees You work for the state Elections Commission which is almost guaranteed to have an equal number of Republicans and Democrats because of how eight of them are appointed by certain legislators who is also a Republican but he actually just issued a letter in support of you So this doesn’t always go down straight along party lines we’re working toward the same goal and that’s a secure election I don’t know anybody who doesn’t want that Read the June 25 letter of support written by Michael Curtis here: Honolulu Civil Beat is a nonprofit organization and your donation helps us produce local reporting that serves all of Hawaii Ideas is the place you'll find essays, analysis and opinion on public affairs in Hawaiʻi. We want to showcase smart ideas about the future of Hawaiʻi, from the state's sharpest thinkers, to stretch our collective thinking about a problem or an issue. Email news@civilbeat.org to submit an idea Sign up for our FREE morning newsletter and face each day more informed known to everyone as “Okinawa’s beer.” Produced in Nago the gateway to the northern part of Okinawa Island known as “Yanbaru,” its flavor is characterized by its crisp with the flagship product “Orion The Draft” leading the way about Orion Beer’s commitment to pursuing a taste that makes you want to drink it tailored to Okinawa’s unique climate beloved as the beer of the people of Okinawa and boasting the largest market share in the prefecture Its manufacturing plant has been located in Nago since its founding we considered various factors such as the abundance of underground water suitable for beer production Orion Beer has been cherished as ‘the local beer’ for generations,” says Mr The Nago Plant is now a popular tourist spot offering tours of part of the production line through the “Orion Happy Pack” program decided to challenge the notion that beer production was impossible in a subtropical climate aiming to show the island’s youth that “if you try you can achieve anything.” The company was originally named “Okinawa Beer Co. Ltd.” After spending one and a half years introducing refrigeration and cooling equipment essential for beer brewing in the tropics and bringing in brewing technicians from Tokyo University of Agriculture a public contest was held in newspapers with a prize for the best name Orion Beer was launched nationwide in May 1959 the company name was changed to “Orion Beer Co. beer in Okinawa was primarily consumed in restaurants and bars draft beer (freshly brewed beer) was introduced emphasizing the freshness of “beer brewed locally and delivered fresh to the store.” This concept quickly gained popularity among residents the company remained committed to using draft beer leading to the creation of the “Draft” brand name “Fresh beer is beer that has not undergone heat treatment the subtle aromas of hops and malt are preserved all the beer produced by Orion Beer is unpasteurized fresh beer Regarding the characteristics of Orion Beer we place great importance on the ‘refreshing’ sensation that Okinawans feel when drinking them The smoothness that makes people want to drink another one after another at a beach party is the tradition of Orion Beer.” At the time of its founding Okinawa was flooded with American beers like Budweiser and Miller which had a mild bitterness and a crisp aftertaste One of the reasons the original beer struggled to sell may have been its strong bitterness It’s likely that the crisp flavor and refreshing finish which suit Okinawa’s climate and lifestyle Water has a significant impact on the taste of beer Orion Beer uses water sourced from a dam surrounded by the Yanbaru Forest for its brewing process the water in Yanbaru is closer to soft water “We refer to this process as ‘refining the water.’ After filtering the sourced water This ensures that the water we use for brewing is of the highest quality perfectly suited for beer production,” explains Taruoka The main ingredients of Orion The Draft are malt and hops Malt is mashed in a mash tun to produce wort which is then filtered using the husks of the malt to remove any residue from the mashing process resulting in “clear wort.” The hops added during the boiling stage are carefully adjusted in terms of quantity and timing to impart the ideal bitterness and aroma The mixture is then fermented and aged in tanks with beer yeast allowing the natural carbonation from fermentation to remain This process gives “Orion The Draft” its unique smoothness and pleasant aftertaste Orion Beer has about eight standard products the company manufactures about 15 products annually including sparkling beer and non-alcoholic beverages “It is true that beer consumption among younger generations is gradually declining in Okinawa With an increasing number of people who do not prefer alcohol we must make efforts to increase opportunities for people to experience the taste of beer by offering non-alcoholic and low-alcohol products,” says Taruoka since the Tax on Alcoholic Beverages Act was revised in 2018 the range of permissible secondary ingredients has expanded allowing beers with strong bitterness and aroma that were previously unacceptable to be produced “The possibilities have broadened,” he explains Let’s take a look at some of the products currently sold by Orion Beer “Orion The Premium” is a high-value-added line true to its name and has become a hit product following “Orion The Draft.” It is made using a new beer yeast “Okinawa Yeast OB-001,” derived from over 3,000 samples of plants native to Okinawa and a fragrant aroma reminiscent of sake or wine comes the craft beer “75BEER (Nago Beer).” In collaboration with the Nago Crossroads Shopping District Association the “75BEER PROJECT” was launched to create a Nago-exclusive beer The craft lager features the aroma of Okinawan shikuwasa (a type of citrus fruit) and a copper-red color evoking the sunset over Nago Bay a test sale was conducted exclusively within Nago City and all 23,000 bottles sold out in just four days it was released in December 2019 as Orion’s first premium craft beer The “Orion Tida Red” and “Orion Coral Blue,” limited-edition color beers (sparkling beer) using natural pigments “Orion Tida Red” is colored red with hibiscus extract while ‘Orion Coral Blue’ is colored blue with butterfly pea extract When poured into a glass and blended together “This year has been a year of challenges for us with the launch of our first craft beer created in collaboration with the local shopping district and a colored beer inspired by the idea of ‘breaking the stereotype that beer must be golden.’ Going forward we aim to continue proposing diverse ways to enjoy beer that celebrate each beer’s unique character,” said Taruoka the company has been producing small-batch craft beer using a miniature brewing facility that is approximately 1/100th the size of its regular production equipment and this initiative has been well received this craft beer is available at Orion Beer’s own hotel the company is expanding its fan base overseas currently exporting products to 16 countries and regions worldwide Orion Beer continues to uphold the traditions it has built up over the years while also keeping an eye on the next generation who are said to be increasingly turning away from beer The company will continue to challenge the possibilities of “Made in Okinawa” beer with its characteristic open-minded ideas true to the spirit of the tropical island of Okinawa because fortunately good products are more common than bad Purchases made after clicking on those links may help support road.cc by earning us a commission but all of our reviews are fully independent comfort and performance are key factors that can make or break your ride The Prologo Nago R4 PAS 3DMSS saddle delivers on both fronts by utilising the latest cutting-edge design and innovative materials I rigorously tested this saddle on a variety of rides from criterium racing on smooth tarmac to gruelling 220km gravel rides and in all manner of riding positions and derrière vibrations I was grateful of its comfort Transitioning from my trusty Selle Italia SLR Boost to the Prologo Nago R4 PAS 3DMSS was a mix of excitement and apprehension and the fit can vary greatly from one rider to another It's always recommended to test a saddle before committing to a purchase The Prologo Nago R4 PAS 3DMSS has a unique appearance with its 3D-printed mesh design it's clear that this is not your average saddle The 3D mesh construction promises enhanced comfort by providing different cushioning zones tailored to your pressure points as did the need to raise my seat height by 2-3mm to account for the additional squish compared to my previous saddle My first test was during a criterium race at Castle Combe The saddle's grippy surface initially felt restrictive I soon appreciated this feature as it helped me to maintain a stable position The saddle's ability to evenly distribute pressure was noticeable providing consistent support even in aggressive racing positions I took the saddle on several long base-mileage rides around Wiltshire where the potholed lanes provided a true test of comfort and durability absorbing shocks and bumps with remarkable efficiency with its varying cushioning stiffness zones reducing fatigue and discomfort over long distances proving to be a reliable companion for everyday riding Indoor training on a turbo trainer can be particularly challenging for a saddle as there is little variation in your riding position and constant pressure on the same points the Prologo Nago R4 PAS 3DMSS continued to impress The 3D-printed mesh allowed for excellent ventilation preventing the saddle from becoming overly hot or uncomfortable during long The saddle's ergonomic design supported my pelvis well and I experienced no numbness or discomfort The ultimate test for any saddle is a long and the 220km Hotchillee Stone Circle event provided just that I embarked on this adventure with some trepidation as I had only logged a handful of rides on the saddle prior to this ride the Prologo Nago R4 PAS 3DMSS exceeded all expectations from bumpy bridleways to teeth-chattering gravel the saddle remained comfortable and supportive throughout The ability of the saddle to adapt to different pressure points and riding positions was particularly noticeable The standout features of the saddle is its 3D-printed mesh which provides varying cushioning stiffness in different zones each with its own specific geometric shapes and elastic coefficients to ensure optimal support and comfort The rear section of the saddle is designed with high density and a high-elastic coefficient to provide greater support to your ischial bones and facilitate the traction phase of pedalling The three middle sections feature low density and a medium-elastic coefficient offering maximum comfort where the soft tissues rest the saddle presents a medium density and a low-elastic coefficient providing good support even when you're sat at the tip of the saddle This thoughtful design ensures that each part of the saddle responds optimally to the pressure exerted by the rider accommodating your morphology and enhancing overall comfort the saddle's construction includes an injected long-fibre carbon base and Nack (Nano Carbon Fiber) rails These materials help to reduce the overall weight while maintaining maximum stiffness contributing to the saddle's high-performance characteristics by providing a lightweight yet robust platform suitable for all types of riding The long carbon rails offer a wide range of fore-and-aft adjustability allowing you to fine-tune your setup for optimal performance and comfort This adjustability is particularly beneficial for achieving the perfect bike fit which can significantly enhance your riding efficiency and reduce the risk of injury the extended rails make it easy to accommodate a saddle bag ensuring you can carry essential items without compromising on saddle position or stability with the associated price tag of these 3D-printed saddles the Prologo Nago does not just perform well but also has a premium look when fitted to any bike Its sleek and futuristic design is sure to complement any bike setup adding a touch of sophistication and advanced technology that is hard to ignore makes the saddle an attractive choice if you're looking to upgrade your equipment A potential concern with any intricately designed saddle is its ease of maintenance Given the complex mesh of the Prologo Nago R4 PAS 3DMSS I was worried about how difficult it would be to clean after muddy rides and gravel exploration A simple blast from the garden hose was all it took to get the saddle looking new again making it a practical choice if you ride in all conditions it's important to emphasise that fit is highly individual and the 137mm width of the Prologo Nago R4 PAS 3DMSS was a great match for me The saddle provided excellent support in both aggressive race positions and more upright The ability to test the saddle under a variety of conditions allowed me to appreciate its versatility and comfort across different types of rides ultimately proved beneficial by maintaining a stable position during intense efforts this feature helps to prevent unnecessary movement and potential discomfort during long rides There's no denying all the big-brand 3D saddles are wallet-emptyingly expensive compared to traditional foam alternatives That said, its price sits in the middle of those of its competitors such as the Fizik Vento Argo R3 Adaptive at £260 and the £410 Selle Italia SLR Boost 3D Kit Carbonio Superflow It's a fair bit more expensive than Prologo's own Nago R4 Nack made from carbon fibre and foam For some the extra price might be a reasonable price to pay for a café stop talking point and some bling factor For more choices, our best bike saddles buyer's guide rounds up our favourite seats from just £25 upwards The Prologo Nago R4 PAS 3DMSS is an impressive saddle that combines innovative design with practical performance Its 3D-printed mesh construction and varying cushioning stiffness zones provide tailored support and comfort making it suitable for a wide range of riding conditions this saddle offers a reliable and comfortable option the Prologo Nago R4 PAS 3DMSS is definitely worth a test ride Its unique design and advanced materials may require a brief adjustment period but I think the benefits in terms of comfort and performance are well worth it ensure the fit is right for you by testing it out through a professional bike fit or a demo ride the Prologo Nago R4 PAS 3DMSS has earned its place as a top contender in the world of road cycling saddles Its innovative approach to comfort and support sets a new standard making it a worthy investment for serious cyclists who can afford it Exceptional all-day comfort delivered by advanced 3D zonal engineering – though it comes with a heavyweight price Make and model: Prologo Nago R4 PAS 3DMSS Nack 137 saddle Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at How does that compare to your own feelings about it "A new multi-disciplinary saddle already adopted by several professionals such as Tadej Pogačar Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product Comfort and Performance with record weight: Using data from the Pressure Map MyOwn tests it was possible to identify areas of the saddle where the applied pressures were lower The cover sections at these areas were made with specific 3D geometric shapes designed to be able to limit the material used but without compromising comfort or limiting the saddle's performance The weight of the NAGO R4 PAS 3DMSS is only 149 grams The absolute lowest weight compared to all 3D models currently on the market THE MULTI SECTOR SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY BECOMES 3D: The rear section has a high density and a high elastic coefficient to provide greater support to the ischial bones and facilitate the traction phase of pedalling present low density and a medium elastic coefficient to offer maximum comfort where the soft tissues rest presents a medium density and a low elastic coefficient to offer good support even when it is necessary to pedal at the tip of the saddle Designed for the analysis of pressure test: NAGO R4 PAS 3DMSS was born from the study of Pressure Map MyOwn tests Prologo's proprietary system that allowed scientific analysis of the pressure areas exerted on the saddle by various professional and amateur cyclists Nack Rail (Nano Carbon Fiber): Crafted with carbon fibre the Nack rail is tailored for performance-driven cyclists seeking maximum rigidity and lightness Comfortable straight out the box but a more static riding position did take some getting used to No saddle should cost the same as a return flight to Egypt Though it is at least marginally cheaper than some other 3D-printed saddles Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose A superbly comfortable saddle that relieves pressure in a variety of riding positions and conditions Tell us what you particularly liked about the product Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product It so expensive it overshadows the rest of my bike How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market Marginally cheaper than other 3D printed saddles such as the Fizik Vento Argo 00 Adaptive and the Selle Italia SLR Boost 3D Kit Carbonio Would you recommend the product to a friend Use this box to explain your overall score and though a high-quality traditional model does nearly as well for half the price it's not bad value compared with other 3D-printed designs I usually ride: Santa Cruz Stigmata   My best bike is: Factor One Disc I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Expert I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing please consider subscribing to the site to support us directly As a subscriber you can read road.cc ad-free The revenue from adverts helps to fund our site then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £1.99 Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist The markup on these saddles is absolutely insane You can get essentially the same saddle from aliexpress for 40 quid delivered 3D printing or a full carbon construction aren't that special these days Except you'll probably find that the factory selling it on Aliexpress are managing that low price by "borrowing" the original design without credit and then actually making it in Xinjiang or somewhere similar I'm sure this (and other 3D printed models) are made where labour costs are cheap also There's only so much "design" that can go into a saddle as well The one I have from "RYET" doesn't look like a rip-off of any western brands as far as I can tell I'd always stay away from fakes of known brands there but there are chinese brands that are well worth looking at All Fizik and Selle Italia saddles (though not all their other products) are made in Italy I believe and their 3D printed models definitely are but the very soft centre won't suit all riders Ideal shape and design for performance riding but its firm nature makes it a questionable choice for off-road riding road.cc's audience Report an advert on road.cc Privacy policy Subscribe All material © Farrelly Atkinson (F-At) Limited, Unit 7b Green Park Station BA11JB. Tel 01225 588855. © 2008–present unless otherwise stated. Terms and conditions of use Motorheads prepare for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Park and Rally Challenge returning Sunday The event at Nago Civic Center will host several kid-friendly auto activities including e-motor sports Special vehicles will also be on display throught the venue 60 rally cars will race starting at 9:30 a.m from the venue through different routes around Motobu Town and Nago City A live feed of the race will be projected on the big screen at the event site Bleachers will also be installed near the Motobu course for spectators wanting to see the action up close Access the spectator stands via a free shuttle bus from Motobu Port race on over to Nago for an exhilarating day for car enthusiasts *Parking space is available at Nago Fishing Port (N 26.587182 *A ceremonial start for the Rally Challenge will take place at this venue at 9:30 a.m Shuttle Bus will transport visitors between a temporary parking lot around Motobu Port (N 26.640961 E 127.880421) and the bleachers between 9:30 am and 3:30 p.m The 3D-printed top has varying levels stiffness and support dialled in where it's needed the saddle uses 3D printing technology alongside nano carbon rails to keep comfort high and weight low comfortable platform but one that's potentially very expensive if you don't shop around This saddle will appeal to weight weenies and anyone with deep pockets who is looking to maximise power delivery without sacrificing comfort The Nago R4 PAS 3DMSS is the first saddle from Prologo to feature an entirely 3D-printed upper The saddle was designed using Pressure Map MyOwn tests Prologo's proprietary system that looked at the various areas where pressure was applied across the saddle by both amateurs and professionals The saddle's 3D-printed top features a structure that's split into five distinct sectors that vary in the level of stiffness and support they provide Named MSS (Multi Sector System technology) each section has distinct geometric shapes varying densities and differentiated elastic coefficients The rear is high density and has a high elastic coefficient to provide greater support to the ischial bones (sit bones) The three middle sections are low-density and have a medium elastic coefficient for soft tissue The front is medium density and has a low elastic coefficient for ‘on the rivet’ riding There is also a large central cut-out to help relieve pressure on the soft tissue of the perineum This 3D printed top is bonded to an injected long-fibre carbon base with Nack (nano carbon fibre) rails to reduce weight The resultant weight is a claimed 149g and a measured 153g With a length of 245mm and a maximum width of 137mm that makes it one of the lightest 3D-printed saddles available Riding the Prologo Nago R4 PAS 3DMSS saddle it’s definitely firmer than a lot of 3D printed saddles that I’ve used before while also featuring more of a curve than a flat top especially coming from a more cushioned saddle For big seated efforts where maximal power transfer is required the stiffer platform gives a great base for the transfer of watts from trunk to legs to pedals and feels planted I’m sitting further back on the saddle with the wider support area and firmer 3D padding It works well and still provides plenty of comfort The 3D padding absorbed impacts from rough roads well and didn’t give me any pressure sore issues even after consecutive long days in the saddle Moving forwards on the saddle the change in padding pressure is noticeable the lighter density does help stop soft tissue from suffering excessive pressure from the smaller surface area of the saddle It’s not a position on the saddle I would adopt for long and I don’t see why many would but is very useful for when you want to shift around a bit for comfort and change of position it works really well when tucking up into a more aggressive position on the bike again alleviating pressure from the soft tissue but doing so was potentially more comfortable than on a regular padded saddle or even the crop of stubby-nosed race saddles available now Another feature I like is that the front of the saddle is a bit narrower than the Specialized Romin I’m used to riding but I do get thigh rubbing on the nose of the saddle a problem that the narrower Prologo does not give Getting the fit just right did take quite a while though The Prologo sits quite low and has nicely long rails I found I had to boost the saddle up a fair bit and push it back as well to get the desired fit those lovely Nack carbon rails are very easy to scuff when clamping and adjusting the saddle the perforated padding is a dirt trap that is near impossible to clean Value is an area where this saddle may struggle if bought directly from Prologo's website I’d say its performance is similar to the S-Works Mirror Romin that I use regularly but where the Romin is a bit better for longer days in the saddle the Romin is £350/£450 compared to the Prologo at £420/$420 Selle Italia’s SLR Boost 3D Kit Carbonio Superflow is £409.99/$479.90 and even the Fizik Antares Adaptive 00 is £399.99/$399.99 buy the same Prologo Nago R4 PAS 3DMSS saddle from a British retailer and the RRP is substantially lower at £349.99 making it the least expensive of the bunch For those who want one of the lightest 3D-printed saddles The comfort is great and the power transfer superb If you shop around you can purchase it for a more reasonable price too Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 *Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 Graduating with a first-class honours degree in Sport & Exercise Sciences, he continues to pursue his interest in research in the field of Sport Science alongside managing his coaching business, ATP Performance He also works as a Wind Tunnel operator and Performance Consultant at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub and businesses to optimise performance and develop products Okinawa Prefecture said Friday that Japan's Supreme Court has not accepted its appeal claiming the state's overturning of its rejection of a modified landfill plan for a controversial U.S is the last in a total of 14 lawsuits between the state and the prefecture over the matter and finalizes a ruling by the Fukuoka High Court's Naha branch in September that also dismissed the appeal citing the local government's lack of standing as a plaintiff The central government and Okinawa have long been at odds over the transfer of the Futenma base from a crowded residential district in Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area in Nago military facilities in Japan since World War II ended in 1945 Of the 14 lawsuits regarding the Henoko relocation the prefectural government lost in all 10 cases that concluded at court "It is extremely disappointing that the judiciary dismissed the case without offering any concrete judgment Our opposition to the Henoko new base plan remains unchanged and we will continue to work tirelessly toward a resolution," Okinawa Gov The central government submitted a revised landfill plan to the Okinawa governor in April 2020 to address the issue of soft soil After the prefectural government refused to approve it the central government granted approval in its place on Dec The prefectural government had argued in the suit that the state's decision to greenlight the modified plan despite its objections was illegal But the Naha branch ruled last September that the prefecture's claim of infringement on its autonomy was invalid stating that approving the design change was part of its duties entrusted by the state Work begins to reinforce soft soil in Okinawa U.S. base transfer U.S. Marines in Okinawa start moving to Guam, over 10 yrs after accord U.S. Ospreys resume flights in Japan after halt over safety concerns To have the latest news and stories delivered to your inbox Simply enter your email address below and an email will be sent through which to complete your subscription Please check your inbox for a confirmation email Thank you for reaching out to us.We will get back to you as soon as possible Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information National Report Okinawa Prefecture’s years-long battle to stop the central government building a U.S base on its soil has come to naught after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal over the last lawsuit on the issue 16 ended the legal row over the government project to build a replacement facility off Henoko Point in Nago Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan 10 cases that were finalized went against Okinawa Prefecture while the remaining four were either settled out of court or withdrawn “It is extremely regrettable that the judiciary has thrown out the case without giving any specific grounds,” Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki said Jan we will continue to call on the central government to seek a solution through dialogue.” the Defense Ministry’s Okinawa Defense Bureau filed a design change application to solidify the soft seabed off Henoko but the prefectural government refused to approve it the land minister canceled the prefecture’s decision after the Defense Ministry applied for a review the prefectural government sought to nullify the minister’s decision after district and high courts said the argument is not subject to judicial procedures The Supreme Court’s first petty bench only said there are no grounds to hear an appeal such as contravention of a judicial precedent It was a unanimous decision by the bench’s five justices (This article was written by Takashi Endo and Taro Ono.) EDITORIAL: Forceful way Futenma base is being relocated a national disgrace EDITORIAL: Progress needed in lightening U.S office gives fresh ammunition to governor’s foes Manga blasted for scene about ‘paid protesters’ in Henoko military land in Okinawa becoming health care hub Information on the latest cherry blossom conditions Please right click to use your browser’s translation function.) A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II In-house News and Messages No reproduction or republication without written permission Is the commission still able to do its job amid unceasing questions about election fairness continued calls to fire top officials and hours-long meetings plagued by infighting Chad Blair is the politics editor for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at cblair@civilbeat.org or follow him on X at @chadblairCB 15 public meeting of the Hawaiʻi Elections Commission was typical of the meetings the commission has held for well over a year now: lengthy Only a few minutes after it began, Commissioner Ralph Cushnie made a motion to amend the minutes from the Dec. 18 meeting. He complained that the minutes did not accurately reflect what had happened in the December meeting — a meeting where Chair Michael Curtis evicted Cushnie for obstructing the agenda was nearly four hours of back and forth between Cushnie other commissioners and a Zoom audience of more than 100 people The proceedings included lots of testimony on an obsession to remove Scott Nago as chief election officer even though the matter has already been debated at length and Nago remains at his post To be clear, it is precisely the job of the commission to hold such public hearings, to investigate complaints and to advise and evaluate the chief election officer. In that sense, the nine-member volunteer commission is doing as it is required by law But the meetings also illustrate that the commission’s work can be sidetracked by dozens of sometimes angry politically ideological and occasionally ill-informed testifiers who do not believe Hawaiʻi’s elections are run with integrity — even though there has been little to no evidence found of voter fraud While Curtis and Cushnie reject notions that politics clouds the commission’s work, the contentious meetings have not gone unnoticed. House Bill 141 would make the members of the commission subject to Senate confirmation The idea is to vet potential commissioners to ensure that they will serve the state’s elections process fairly Whether the bill will be enough to take the rage and partisanship out of elections commission meetings is an open question While election denial conspiracies that followed the 2020 presidential election have largely disappeared nationally following Donald Trump’s convincing reelection in November There are still concerns about whether Hawaiʻi’s mail-in balloting system is working as intended Commissioners are now asking the Legislature to form a task force to examine whether there are conflicts in “the letter of the law,” as Curtis explained that are “inconsistent” with how the voting is actually conducted Curtis did not elaborate on what he meant by inconsistencies but he pointed out that the mail-in system was initially intended to be a pilot project in Kauaʻi County only “I know the Kauaʻi clerk and elections people I know that they got their stuff together,” he said “It would have been a lot better to experiment on Kauaʻi before doing a carte blanche across the state.” A majority of those who have testified before the elections commission over the past several years very much want a new chief election officer That was on full display at the January meeting Dozens of citizens signed up to speak over Zoom Andy Crossland accused Nago of insubordination Nolan Chang alleged multiple violations of election rules under Nago’s watch Jennifer Hunt said the election process lacked transparency and Gary Cordery testified that Nago had been ineffective regarding the state’s mail-in voting system Rhy Thornton accused some elections commissioners of stonewalling and even treason The battle over Nago has continued since Cushnie was appointed commissioner in January 2024 he’d spent months testifying and submitting letters and emails to Nago There is often a clear political divide on the commission judging from many of the votes on the many motions Anita Aquino and Kahiolani Papalimu generally tend to side with Cushnie All were appointed by Republican legislators Jeffrey Osterkamp and Peter Young usually side with Curtis All four were selected by Democratic legislators while Curtis was appointed twice to the commission by Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald in this case ones that occurred when the House minority leader did not make appointments in time.) Curtis declined to reveal his political leanings although he described himself as a fiscal conservative He declined to comment on perceptions of the political ideology of testifiers although he allowed that some may be “Trumpists.” At least one commissioner has been identified nationally as an election denier nonpartisan States United Democracy Center says on its website that Papalimu reposted a letter from the state Republican Party chair asking Vice President Mike Pence to reject electors from six states carried by Joe Biden Some testifiers have advocated for removing Curtis as chair He’s characterized by critics as heavy-handed and even dictatorial who as a commissioner was himself sometimes critical during meetings of the former chair “I’m a soccer ref and a baseball ref “Some people are out of order and you got to limit them four or five hours … I’ll leave it at that.” often watches the meetings and comments publicly Curtis is doing a good job keeping the meetings as focused as he can She said Cushnie takes his work seriously and that all commissioners in general “are performing their duties.” Mason said “there is no question that the conduct of meetings has been difficult.” She described some as disruptive and frustrating to watch making it challenging for commissioners and staff “It’s not usually about substantive questions It’s usually about procedural matters and objections to procedural matters — you know ‘objections to my objection.’ They’re very intent on trying to say what they want to say regardless of whether it corresponds with the agenda.” is that some testifiers and commissioners blame Nago and Curtis for things beyond their control which were backed up for hours on Oʻahu on Election Day are neither the purview of the commission nor the state Office of Elections but rather the county clerks Nor are they responsible for establishing mail-in balloting What the Office of Elections is responsible for is candidate filing “It’s misdirected criticism,” Mason said Sometimes the commissioners themselves do not fully appreciate that their role is advisory Mason pointed to the elections office’s plan to join the Electronic Registration Information Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization “created by and comprised of” state election officials from across the U.S ERIC is used by 24 states to ensure voter rolls are accurate and to help detect illegal voting Some testifiers and commissioners raised objections to joining ERIC, which the far right has accused of being biased when it comes to voter fraud and Hawaiʻi is now in the process of joining ERIC There is little the commission can do to limit testimony Curtis said each person is allowed 3 minutes to speak and the chair can allow for an additional 3 minutes as is the case with elections commission meetings “There’s a lot of people venting when they comment but there’s some substance behind it and and everybody’s concerned And that’s where my meetings have been.” Hawaiʻi’s elections are conducted by the county clerks who submit the ballot tabulations to the state Cushnie has complained to the commission that he has examined the ballots and worries there is a difference in the number generated in Kauaʻi County compared to the final count reported by the Office of Elections and he wonders whether there are similar discrepancies in the other counties That’s why Cushnie wants to subpoena documents focused on the 2024 Hawaiʻi general election including ones transmitted on Dropbox and through U.S “I want to know that the elections are run fairly,” Cushnie told Civil Beat adding that he has “zero confidence” at this point He compared the elections system to a financial institution arguing that “people would be going to jail” if they kept records the way the elections office does But Cushnie has thus far not been able to persuade the elections commission despite submitting the reams of documentation he has painstakingly compiled on his own president of Hawaiian Islands Republican Women said she too has wondered whether ballots are being collected and counted accurately who testifies frequently before the elections commission is what she says is a difficulty in getting state and county election officials to adequately respond to public inquiries She said it’s frustrating to reach a county official only to be told her inquiry has to do with the state That can only be improved with better communication and Detwiler has her doubts whether that’s a shared objective and they appear to do the right thing.” She also does not believe that most testifiers are testifying merely through a political lens “Elections are not even a partisan issue,” she said “It’s a citizen’s issue about accountability and integrity.” One of Detwiler’s concerns was resolved only last week An audit was done of her race for state House District 37 on Oʻahu and Detwiler said she accepts the results of the audit “This would give the power and authority to the Democrat-majority Senate therefore creating an imbalance on the EC An imbalance will also diminish the voices and opinions of the minority party on the EC … the public will not trust the elections process.” The workload of the elections commission extends beyond complaints about Scott Nago and complaints from Ralph Cushnie Curtis remarked that there are concerns about the declining service of the U.S noting the closure of the Keālia Post Office on Kauaʻi He also raised concerns about unique identifying numbers on ballots and envelopes that could possibly be tracked inappropriately by outsiders emphasized that voting machines and software should not dictate voting behavior The meeting concluded with a victory of sorts for bipartisanship A motion from commissioner Young asked the Legislature to create the bipartisan task force to examine questions about mail-in balloting And Cushnie made a motion to ask the counties for their chain of custody documentation Curtis then asked commissioners if there was anything else to discuss “In that case I’ll adjourn the meeting,” he said and thanks for the testimony — positive and negative.” The elections commission’s way of operating stands in sharp contrast to the public meetings of the Hawaiʻi Campaign Spending Commission and the Hawaiʻi State Ethics Commission Those agencies rarely meet for more than an hour or so relationships among commissioners and staff are friendly and productive and only a handful of people tune in remotely That politics hovers over the elections commission is perhaps no surprise The 2004 law that established the commission’s current composition pitted the Democrat-controlled Legislature against a Republican governor complaining that it took away the governor’s power to appoint one of the commissioners and blurred the separation of powers between the executive and judiciary branches She also argued that the commission’s composition would favor the three neighbor island counties over the heavily populated City and County of Honolulu as each county would have two representatives The Legislature easily overrode Lingle’s veto said at the time that having four commission members selected by Democratic lawmakers and four by Republicans with a ninth member selected by the commission to be chair House Bill 141 would not change the Democrat-Republican split nor the neighbor island representation But it would require members to be confirmed by the state Senate the same process that members of the campaign spending commission are required to go through Senate confirmation is not required for ethics or campaign spending commissioners but those nominees are selected by the independent Judicial Council and sent to the governor for consideration said the elections commission meetings did not play a major factor in introducing the bill although he said he is aware of their disruptive nature The main purpose of his bill is to let the public weigh in on filling important positions “The reason for the bill is that I felt anyone who is going to be on this commission and managing decisions of our elections should have a public hearing and be subject to accountability and public testimony,” said Tam a former chair of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi But in an indication of just how political the bill is viewed six of the nine House Republicans voted against it Thursday Two of the other three GOP members were absent Republicans object to the fact that confirmation of commissioners would be subject to the dominant Democratic Party the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi itself supports the bill saying it will “significantly enhance the transparency and accountability” of the elections commission He said issues before the commission are procedural rather than political “This bill is designed to silence the minorities concerns regarding our elections process,” he wrote in testimony Marine died after falling from a bridge over a dam over the weekend in this northern Okinawa city city fire department and prefectural police was found by Japanese divers and pronounced dead at 2:28 p.m Saturday after an apparent accident at Haneji Dam in Nago according to a news release Monday from the 3rd Marine Logistics Group served as a combat engineer with 9th Engineer Support Battalion at Camp Hansen whose warrior spirit lifted those around him His absence is deeply felt by the entire battalion but his legacy will continue to inspire us.” Dominguez was on Matakina Bridge over Haneji Dam in the Taira district of Nago with five friends when the accident happened around 12:20 p.m a spokesman from the Nago Fire Department said by phone Monday The department received an emergency call at 12:29 p.m and recovered Dominguez’s body from 46 feet below the reservoir’s surface at 1:32 p.m Swimming is prohibited in the area around the bridge and dam The bridge is about 85 feet above the water Some government officials in Japan are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating the Marine’s death declined to provide further details about the incident Enjoy a leisurely hike through the forested trails of the mountain and enjoy sweeping views of the coast Parking space is available at Tenjotenbodai (observatory Okinawa Prefecture Nago Youth Center (26.589070 and Ganju Hiroma (southern observatory near Ganju Hiroba *If you park your car at Okinawa Prefecture Youth Center you will be required to check in (sign up) and check out at the office military airfield is once again being shipped to a northern port after a nearly two-month pause spurred by a fatal truck accident Trucks began hauling loads of material to Awa port again on Thursday a spokesman for Okinawa prefecture’s Seashore Disaster Prevention Division said by phone that day The Okinawa Defense Bureau — an arm of Japan’s Defense Ministry — notified the division on Wednesday that shipments would resume used to reclaim a portion of Oura Bay for the Marine Corps airfield under construction at Camp Schwab trucked to the port and moved by ships to the airfield site Work at Awa and Motobu ports stopped in July after a security guard was killed and a protester injured in a June 28 accident at Awa port A date to restart work in Motobu has not been decided and an unidentified 72-year-old woman “for some reason” stepped into the path of a truck turning left from the port according to Okinawa Prefectural Police that day Usami suffered severe head injuries and was declared dead at a hospital the division asked the defense bureau to explain measures that will be taken to prevent another accident before restarting operations “But we haven’t heard anything from the bureau yet,” he said “We could visually confirm that the bureau installed a lamp with a siren at the entrance of the pier and that the security guards will shut the sidewalks with net fences when trucks will be going in and out,” the spokesman said About 25 security guards and five protesters were at the exit to the port Thursday afternoon with another 40 guards and five more protesters at the entrance Prefectural police and the guards blocked the road at 1 p.m. and would not let protesters through until “all the trucks are in,” a police official said “Look at the amount of security guards,” said protestor Hideko Yamada of Uruma city The government took two months just to think of this as a security measure?” Earlier this month the defense bureau asked the prefectural government to install guard rails at Awa port and “clarify that it is prohibited to enter the facilities” at Motobu port military presence on the island are a regular presence outside both ports “We cannot think or consider what we can do as a prefecture” until the defense bureau explains what safety measures it will take at the port Denny Tamaki said at a press conference Wednesday Workers on Tuesday began driving piles into the soft seabed at Oura Bay to begin the land reclamation process according to the seashore division spokesman The ministry drove test piles into the bay in July The division asked again that construction be delayed until design discussions with the defense bureau concluded we are planning to send a request to the bureau to continue discussions and stop constructions while these discussions are ongoing,” the spokesman said service member on sexual assault charges this year prompted fresh complaints from an Okinawa city this week Nago City Assembly approved a protest letter and petition Wednesday in response to Marine Lance Cpl Michael Hofmaster’s recent indictment on charges of sexually assaulting and injuring a woman in the city in June Charges leveled against two other service members this year had already elevated popular discontent before Hofmaster’s indictment Washington pleaded not guilty July 12 in Naha District Court to charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor in December Jamel Clayton was charged in May with attempting to sexually assault a woman in Yomitan military authorities suggested changes to the liberty policy across Japan in July so far only a crackdown on off-base alcohol consumption courtesy patrols in nightlife districts and universal sobriety checks at military gates have materialized military can do to restrict troops in Japan Birle Chair in American history at Villanova University in Pennsylvania and a former Fulbright lecturer at the University of the Ryukyus in 2004 and 2005 from everything I can tell as far as reading and talking to people makes a pretty concerted effort to educate people on the proper conduct that’s expected of them — this sort of cultural awareness training,” Gallicchio said in a video call Aug “I don’t know that anything else can be done other than restricting the movement of people off base.” The Nago letter and petition is the latest in a series of formal complaints letters and personal visits by Okinawa government members to the U.S military commanders and Japanese government officials since July copies of which were provided to Stars and Stripes on Thursday military to “provide a sincere response” to the women in each case educate troops on the island about human rights enforce discipline and “take effective preventative measures.” It also asks for “drastic changes” to the status of forces agreement governing the U.S “We are feeling strong indignation because the situation does not improve despite the Japanese government and U.S military stating they will prevent reoccurrences,” the letter and petition state The city plans to present the petition next week to Japanese officials including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara a spokeswoman for the city assembly said Thursday Some Japanese government officials are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity announced in July a “new forum of cooperation” with the Japanese and Okinawan governments and community members He has also called for consistent liberty policies for all U.S USFJ in an unsigned email Thursday acknowledged questions emailed by Stars and Stripes on Wednesday about liberty rules and the forum but has not provided responses Kihara in a news conference Tuesday also said he had no update on the proposed measures The III Marine Expeditionary Force on Okinawa reminded its Marines of the penalty for drunken driving on the island along with reiterating its ongoing measures to reduce the risk of sexual assault and other bad behavior according to a statement Wednesday from spokesman 1st Lt and an anti-base protester injured Friday when they stepped into the path of truck outside a port in northern Okinawa and an unidentified 72-year-old woman stepped from the sidewalk “for some reason” around 10 a.m and were hit by a truck turning left from the port in Awa an Okinawa Prefectural Police spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Friday A bystander at 10:14 phoned the Nago Fire Department to report “two persons were injured after being hit by a truck,” a department spokesman said by phone Friday Usami suffered severe head injuries and was declared dead at a local hospital at 11:09 a.m.; the woman was treated for a broken leg “The reasons of the accident are under investigation,” the spokesman said military presence on the island are a regular presence outside the port Landfill material is trucked from the port to the Marine Corps airfield under construction at Camp Schwab in the Henoko district according to a statement by the prefectural assembly in December 2018 but it is highly likely that the truck was transporting landfill materials to Henoko,” the police spokesman said Some government officials in Japan may speak to the media only on condition of anonymity Denny Tamaki on Friday said the accident is “extremely regrettable,” public broadcaster NHK reported that day Tamaki waged a years-long legal fight against the airfield construction that was turned back last year by Japan’s courts we will ask Okinawa Defense Bureau to stop transporting landfill materials until the reason of the accident becomes clear and it is possible to take preventive measures,” Tamaki said He also urged the protestors “to comply with the law and consider the safety and security of the local citizens.” did not respond to a phone call seeking further information Saturday morning Okinawa – The Okinawa branch of Japan’s Defense Ministry has asked the Okinawa government to install guard rails at an island port where a security guard was killed and a protestor injured in June Denny Tamaki asked for guardrails at the entrance to Awa pier in Nago city Bureau procurement director Daisuke Misawa filed the request with the prefecture Thursday “Being responsible for the roads and ports we want the prefecture to take measures as soon as possible,” Ito wrote in the letter we want guardrails to be installed at the entrance of Awa pier to create an environment where private companies can enter and exit smoothly and safely.” and an unidentified 72-year-old woman “for some reason” stepped into the path of a truck turning left from Awa port on June 28 Usami suffered severe head injuries and was declared dead at a local hospital Landfill material was being quarried on Okinawa trucked to Awa and Motobu ports and moved by ships to the U.S Marine Corps airfield under construction at Camp Schwab up until July when the work stopped because of the accident The landfill material is used to reclaim a portion of Oura Bay for the new airfield Ito in the letter also requested that the prefecture “clarify that it is prohibited to enter the facilities of the port” at Motobu “The police are conducting investigations about the accident but we think that these obstructions [by protestors] conducted on a daily basis are in the background of this accident,” Ito wrote Work at the site was set to resume fully in August after more than four years’ delay while Tamaki fought the project in Japanese courts The airfield is planned as a replacement for Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in urban Ginowan Misawa did not say when landfill material shipments to the new airfield would restart when asked by NHK Okinawa on Thursday soba restaurants inside traditional homes and buildings are common The nostalgic mood of these buildings is closely associated with the signature dish of the island is one of those places that has been on my radar for a while I’d pass the restaurant sign with kanji reading “大家” literally meaning “a big house,” but I’d never make the stop I finally had the opportunity to visit when I was struggling to find a good place for a late lunch I drove 20 minutes down a narrow street off Rt 84 and found Ufuya in a valley surrounded by a deep forest I parked my car and entered the restaurant’s entrance gate I could see a cluster of traditional Okinawan houses with red-tiled roofs at the bottom of the green valley but Ufuya delivered it in the form of an unmanned golf cart which transfers customers down the slope to the restaurant and surrounding buildings The cart went slowly and was big enough for four people As I descended with my parents aboard the cart I felt at ease and enjoyed the idyllic view the more details I could see on the architecture and tile roofs which looked more like a movie set than a restaurant the garden was pristine and there was a small water channel with a few carp swimming in it Despite its age (and a restoration in 2001) the inside bears a relaxed but chic mood where diners have their choice of tables on a wooden floor or tatami We were seated on the covered porch giving us a tableside view to the area’s lush plants Soon my soki soba (920 yen or $6.19) topped with pork ribs arrived The noodles lacked the chew I expected but the mild tasting broth complimented the noodles very well Ufuya also offers a variety of non-soba dishes on their menu including pork cutlet and shabu-shabu with Aguu I enjoyed my post-hike meal surrounded by the serenity of the valley’s greenery and nestled in by the warmth of my noodles and broth Now I only had one more adventure – the ride back up the valley – to look forward to before ending a day of exercise refreshing vistas and exploring new places Today's print edition Home Delivery While protesters demand the cancellation of full-scale U.S base relocation work on the Oura Bay side of the Henoko coastal district in Nago some residents have expressed helplessness Students and citizens' groups staged their protests as the Japanese Defense Ministry's Okinawa Defense Bureau on Tuesday launched the work which is part of the project to build a new facility in Henoko in the city of Nago to take over the functions of the U.S Marine Corps' Futenma air station in Ginowan also in the southernmost Japan prefecture.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); I hope the government will review the work." "There's nothing we can do," Masayoshi Kyoda While showing expectations that the government will hold further discussions with local communities A Henoko resident in her 50s said: "It's difficult to persuade them to stop the work now But there is a gap between the ideal and the reality." who has continued to express her opposition to the Futenma base relocation to Henoko "The number of locals protesting (against the project) has been declining with age." In a time of both misinformation and too much information quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing Your subscription plan doesn't allow commenting. To learn more see our FAQ Sponsored contents planned and edited by JT Media Enterprise Division Okinawa — Police are searching for a man who stabbed a U.S Marine during an altercation outside a restaurant near Camp Schwab on Wednesday night The Nago City Fire Department received a call from a restaurant worker at 8:04 p.m military-related man was stabbed by another U.S military-related man,” a department spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday “The [Marine] was stabbed in the street before fleeing into the restaurant,” he said It’s customary in Japan that some government officials speak to the media on condition of anonymity a prefectural police spokesman said by phone Thursday chest and leg but remained conscious and communicative while receiving first aid Naval Hospital Okinawa and has been released with minor injuries,” III Marine Expeditionary Force spokesman 1st Lt Hitchcock did not release the Marine’s name or other biographical details described as a “6 ½ feet tall foreigner man wearing a black hoodie and pants,” was still on the run Thursday The stabbing happened approximately a half-mile from Schwab’s main gate Police said they are examining area surveillance footage as part of the investigation and emergency responders who ensured the Marine’s injuries were treated and guaranteed safe passage to the Naval Hospital,” Hitchcock wrote “We will continue to cooperate with local authorities as the investigation continues.” 29 began driving sand piles to shore up the soft seabed on the north side of Henoko in Nago Amid the ongoing conflict between the central government and the Okinawa prefectural government the difficulty of driving approximately 70,000 piles to a maximum depth of about 70 meters is now in full swing or three-quarters of the total reclaimed land on the Oura Bay side will be filled in over about eight years for the relocation of U.S Ground improvement is a vital part of the project which involves using a method of pouring sand into the ground through a pipe driven into the seabed The prefectural government opposed the reclamation project it rejected the application for design changes by the central government A lawsuit was filed against the central government but the prefecture lost the case at the Supreme Court the central government gave its approval on behalf of the prefecture in a “substitute execution,” the first such proxy action under the Local Autonomy Law the construction of “Seawall A,” where the seabed is relatively firm the project to build an airfield with a V-shaped runway will be completed in the mid-2030s or later The construction of Seawall A is scheduled to take three years and 10 months to drive 1,000 piles into the seafloor according to the explanation given at the Lower House Security Committee meeting in mid-December only 29 piles had been driven in between August and November 2024 Some have pointed out that at this pace the work will take 10 years for Seawall A alone The improvement of the soft ground is expected to be even more difficult and the prefectural government has not changed its argument that completion is impossible The central government has already invested 531.9 billion yen ($3.45 billion) in the project up to fiscal 2023 nearly 60 percent of the estimated total project cost of 930 billion yen only 16 percent of the 20.2 million cubic meters of earth and sand required for the overall reclamation work had been deposited as of November 2024 Work to shore up soft seabed for base relocation to Henoko starts Full-scale land reclamation in Henoko for U.S Editorial Marine Corps Air Station Futenma within Okinawa Prefecture serves as a stark example of how the pursuit of “accomplished facts” cannot be accepted as a substitute for genuine local understanding and democratic processes A year has passed since the Japanese government initiated an unusual “substitutional execution” that effectively overrode Okinawa Prefecture’s opposition to the construction of a new U.S designed to replace the functions of the Futenma facility which is located in the crowded city of Ginowan The central government has used the legal mechanism to step in to make decisions to approve construction work in place of the prefectural administration the Defense Ministry’s Okinawa Defense Bureau was due to start driving more than 70,000 piles into Oura Bay to solidify the soft seabed a situation where a higher level of government steps in to perform duties or make decisions on behalf of a lower level of government strips local administrations of their right to self-determination It is extremely disturbing that construction work has been allowed to proceed unilaterally against the prefecture’s expressed will and when it has been left without any legal recourse to take counteraction Democracy hinges on consensus-building through dialogue and this fundamental principle must be restored Further exacerbating this concern is the government’s recent amendment to the Local Autonomy Law The amendment allows the central government to issue directives to local governments in situations deemed to have a “significant impact on national security,” effectively creating a legal loophole to override local autonomy The vague definition of “significant situations” opens the door to arbitrary intervention and the potential coercion of local governments The heavy-handed approach to building a Futenma replacement facility in Henoko only intensifies anxieties about the potential misuse of this amended law pledged to “continue efforts to reduce the burden” of U.S military bases borne by Okinawa and emphasized the need for local understanding these words ring hollow as he repeatedly told the Diet that the relocation to Henoko is “the only solution to eliminate the dangers of Futenma” without any genuine attempt at compromise or exploration of alternatives The opposition parties also share responsibility for this outrageous situation Their failure to effectively challenge the government’s strong-arm tactics has allowed this situation to continue with the ruling coalition having lost its majority each opposition party must recognize the increased weight of their responsibility and demonstrate a strong presence on issues of national security and the U.S it has been discovered that the prefectural Washington office is operated in the unusual form of a corporation leading the assembly to establish an investigative committee established in 2015 during the term of former Governor Takeshi Onaga to directly engage the United States on base-related issues has faced criticism for its lack of transparency No reports on its operational status have been submitted to the assembly and issues like staff failing to obtain proper authorization for secondary employment have been highlighted The prefecture is now obligated to provide a thorough explanation especially for an office representing the prefecture on such a critical issue Governor Denny Tamaki must clearly articulate the significance and operational details of the Washington office to the assembly and broadly to the public a series of incidents involving assaults on women by U.S The issue was marked by controversy after it was learned the central government failed to inform the prefecture about these crimes in a timely manner A college student at a recent protest rally held by women’s groups and other entities poignantly asked “Why must I have my youth stolen just because I was born in Okinawa and there are bases here?” This question highlights the fundamental injustice at the heart of the issue: the disproportionate burden placed on Okinawa which hosts approximately 70 percent of U.S which grants significant privileges to U.S is a major contributing factor to this imbalance cannot be overlooked The agonizingly slow progress in reducing this burden is not merely an Okinawa-specific issue but a national one that demands the attention and action of all of Japan both Japan and the United States have insisted that constructing a U.S air station off Nago in Okinawa Prefecture is the “only solution” to a thorny military base issue But completion of the “solution” is nowhere in sight.Local opposition to the project persists given the deep and soft seabed that will somehow support the new military base Marines are railing against the planned facility calling it disastrous from the standpoint of military operations the planned V-shaped runways are too short to accommodate a variety of military aircraft and the overall facility will be outdated when it is completed It is being built on reclaimed land off Nago’s Henoko district and the project has entered the landfill stage officials involved in negotiations for the replacement facility show that the plan was the product of political compromise by two desperate and increasingly impatient governments defense official said the “only” solution that the two governments agreed upon has turned out to be the “worst” solution Tokyo and Washington agreed on the return of the Futenma airfield to Japan in 1996 a year after the rape of a local elementary schoolgirl by three U.S servicemen sparked outrage across the nation Protesters in Okinawa demanded a reduction in U.S military’s disproportionate presence in the island prefecture accidents and sexual assault cases involving U.S which makes up only 0.6 percent of Japan’s total land mass military installations in the country in terms of land back then One condition for the return of the Futenma airfield was that a replacement facility would be built within the prefecture to take over the Futenma functions was the main reason the project got off-track Okinawa protesters and local politicians demanded that the replacement facility be placed outside the prefecture Protests escalated after the Henoko district of Nago emerged as a leading candidate site for the new military facility who inspected the Futenma airfield from the sky directed his deputies to expedite efforts to find its replacement site The Futenma air station has been considered the most dangerous military base in the world due to its location in a crowded urban area military helicopter crashed on a university campus in Ginowan after taking off from the Futenma base Although there were no civilian casualties the accident drove home the danger of the base side as deputy undersecretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs recalled in a recent interview with The Asahi Shimbun in Washington that he was irritated by the slow progress in talks in 2005 Lawless said he was frustrated with Japanese officials when they opposed the proposal to move Futenma’s functions to the coast of Nago Japanese negotiators argued there must be a Plan B He said that he replied: “We do have Plan B if we don’t go to Schwab He had to repeat the same remark over and over in the talks He also recalled putting the ball in the Japanese side’s court: “So you tell us A former senior official with the Defense Agency officials were “in a hurry” to resolve the Futenma relocation issue Security Consultative Committee (“2+2”) was scheduled for autumn 2005 and the two allies were expected to produce a document on the realignment of U.S Lawless said that after nearly 10 proposals were weighed the current plan to construct the facility with two runways aligned in a V shape “gave us maximum usage and maximum safety.” It “evolved from a practical land use issue and from a safety issue,” he added Tokyo and Washington also negotiated over how much of Camp Schwab’s land would be used and whether existing facilities there would be displaced to accommodate the Futenma replacement side made clear the extent of their concessions Lawless noted that the Marines strongly opposed the Henoko relocation proposal during the talks but accepted the bilateral accord in the end Marines did not like it because it basically removed them for where they had been” for decades Asked about the persistent doubts expressed over the military operational use of the replacement site After Shinzo Abe became prime minister for a second time in 2012 both governments began insisting the Henoko plan was “the only solution that avoids the continued use” of the Futenma base Takemasa Moriya was baffled when Lawless handed him a drawing of a new landfill runway that would be built in the shallow sea south of Henoko Moriya told the Asahi that when he saw the drawing side had pulled the ladder out from under him Some senior Japanese defense officials believed the plan was put together to appease Okinawans because it incorporated what local general contractors Bigwig lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and officials of the Foreign Ministry apparently endorsed the plan raising the likelihood the project would take off had pushed for construction of the replacement site on the land of Camp Schwab part of which included the Henoko district A memo produced by a former Defense Agency senior official who attended the relocation talks said: “The agency was consistently opposed to the plan involving a landfill during talks on the realignment of U.S was not out of concerns about environmental damage which was prepared to brief lawmakers behind the scenes expressed worries that protesters’ activities in the sea could derail the project Defense officials feared the relocation project “would be nothing but a castle in the air unless its feasibility were secured.” After the 1996 agreement on returning the Futenma base the Defense Agency initially leaned toward the idea of building a landfill replacement facility But the agency was subsequently forced to rethink its approach following a series of fierce protests staged in the sea off Henoko The memo concluded: The project “would end up being shelved or dragged on unless we take a hard look at the reality.” Lawless suddenly suggested the plan at a time when Japanese officials believed the U.S side fully understood the agency’s reluctance to the landfill project mainly over security issues concerning a runway and the size of the facility Tokyo and Washington reached an agreement on the plan to build a single runway on an L-shaped plot of reclaimed land off the Henoko point This plan was considered a “middle course” between the proposal to use Camp Schwab’s property and the proposal for a landfill straddling Henoko Bay to the west and Oura Bay to the east the Defense Agency and the Nago city government settled on the current plan with V-shaped airstrips by expanding the landfill and using land on Henoko But Okinawa prefectural government officials rejected the latest plan The primary consideration for the agency and the city government was where to place the runway to prevent U.S military helicopters from flying over resorts and residential areas according to former senior defense officials Conspicuously absent from the discussion was the technical challenge and high costs of building a landfill on the deep seabed of Oura Bay Also absent was a careful evaluation over whether the facility’s design would meet the U.S a former chief of the Defense Agency’s Okinawa Defense Bureau defended the plan “None of the parties involved in the negotiations was entirely happy about it but it was an answer to a hypercomplex equation that they could swallow,” he said The landfill under the current plan will be 150 hectares The 39-hectare landfill in Henoko Bay was completed by December 2023 16 percent of the total amount of dirt for the entire landfill work had been poured in 46 percent of the estimated 930 billion yen ($6.6 billion) for the project had been already spent by fiscal 2022 was 2.7 times the central government’s initial projection The construction costs were updated after it had been confirmed that many parts of the seabed in Oura Bay are soft like “mayonnaise.” All indications are that the costs will further increase significantly “(The latest number) was a figure concocted to make it look like the least expensive within the 1-trillion-yen mark,” said a Defense Ministry official familiar with the construction work Because of the difficulty involved in creating the landfill the return of the Futenma airfield was pushed to the latter half of the 2030s compared with fiscal 2022 at the earliest under the original plan the “most dangerous” Futenma base has been used nearly three decades after the Japan-U.S While local residents’ remain angered about the continued use of the Futenma air station Marine Corps is also fretting about the relocation particularly from a military operational standpoint At a briefing for media outlets in November military official stationed in Okinawa called the relocation to Henoko the “worst-case scenario” from a purely military standpoint He cited the lengths of the planned runways and geographical constraints as problems The two runways will be about 1,800 meters long 900 meters shorter than that of the Futenma airfield The official said the discrepancy would significantly compromise the ability of U.S The Futenma airfield is expected to serve as a staging point for the Marines when a contingency arises on the Korean Peninsula and in the Taiwan Strait The official also said that unlike at the Futenma base the Henoko site has large mountains to the west and to the north These geographical features would prevent the U.S military from having a clear line of sight through its radars and sensors Another critic questioning the utility of the replacement facility is Shawn Harding candidate at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and a former Marine Corps official who was involved in talks on the realignment of U.S is that the new base is already “obsolete” because it does not support the Marines’ current operational concept for this region: expeditionary advanced base operations (EABO) The EABO aims to secure forward positions for attacks and logistics by having small teams of Marines sent in and dispersed within areas highly threatened by China rather than relying on existing Marine bases “During the Cold War and even post-Cold War period bases in Japan were secure” because of the dominance of U.S But this is no longer the case because of China’s enhanced missile capability Defense Department’s deputy assistant chief of staff Marine Corps Installations Pacific/Marine Forces said the Futenma replacement facility is the outcome of political compromise and lacks features that the U.S A litany of drawbacks related to the Henoko facility include: extensive environmental damage to a rich diversity of marine life including rare coral species; uncertainty on the landfill completion date because of the technical difficulty; exposure of noise and danger to residents because of the new airfield’s proximity to a residential neighborhood; and troublesome access to the new airfield by Marines who live in the southern part of the prefecture While the two allies have repeated that the current plan is the only solution to the Futenma issue Eldridge said it is not the best nor better plan He said the Japanese government is accountable for fully explaining to the public why it has to be Henoko given the strong local opposition to the relocation plan told The Asahi in late March that he had inspected the construction site and recognized the difficulties involved in the work “the government-to-government agreement between the United States and Japan” and that U.S “We are hopeful that once that facility is in place that we will be able to move our capabilities up there,” he said (This story was compiled from reports by Ryo Kiyomiya Turning ‘world’s most dangerous’ base into a symbol of peace VOX POPULI: Silence speaks louder than words in LDP election speeches LDP-backed candidate wins mayoral election in Ginowan EDITORIAL: CDP’s chance to show voters it is worthy of mandate to rule EDITORIAL: Henoko work deepens distrust in Okinawa and needs a rethink Kishida still worlds apart on Okinawa memorial day The Defense Ministry on Tuesday began the first of its full-scale U.S base relocation work on the Oura Bay side of the Henoko coastal area in the city of Nago which involves constructing seawalls on the Oura Bay side with soft ground is part of the project to build a replacement facility for the U.S Marine Corps' Futenma air station in the city of Ginowan in the prefecture The ministry plans to fill in the area surrounded by the seawalls with soil.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); the Okinawa prefectural government is demanding that the Oura Bay work be halted claiming that the ministry has not completed its prior consultation with the prefecture following the discovery of the soft ground on the Oura Bay side land minister Tetsuo Saito gave proxy approval for a design change to the base relocation project Denny Tamaki refused to approve the change The ministry's Okinawa Defense Bureau then notified the prefectural government in June that it would end prior consultation with the prefecture side and launch the full-scale Oura Bay work as early as Aug The dates displayed for an article provide information on when various publication milestones were reached at the journal that has published the article activities on preceding journals at which the article was previously under consideration are not shown (for instance submission All content on this site: Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. Marines in Okinawa Prefecture have begun moving to Guam under an agreement Tokyo originally reached 18 years ago with Washington The first batch of about 100 Marines is being relocated to the U.S But the timeline for the remaining 4,000 or so troops is unclear Defense Minister Gen Nakatani labeled the development which is in line with the Roadmap for Realignment Implementation concluded in 2006 as a “significant milestone” when he met reporters after a meeting with local mayors here on Dec Nago Mayor Taketoyo Toguchi welcomed the move as helping to reduce the burden of U.S He vowed to continue calling on the central government to achieve more tangible results in alleviating the bases burden in the southernmost prefecture agreement in 2006 centered on the transfer of about 8,000 Marines in Okinawa Prefecture to Guam by 2014 and construction of a  facility in Nago to take over the functions of U.S Congress removed the transfer-related outlays from the federal budget in 2011 after the U.S Government Accountability Office pointed out financial problems Tokyo and Washington revised the agreement in 2012 to move about 9,000 Marines--more than 4,000 to Guam and the remainder to Hawaii and the U.S mainland--independently of the relocation of the Futenma air base The transfer was further delayed because construction of related facilities in Guam stalled due to labor shortages and other reasons the approximately 100 Marines being moved to Guam are logistic support personnel of III Marine Expeditionary Force It remains unclear when the remaining Marines covered by the revised agreement will be transferred The ministry was unable to say when the redeployment to the U.S or even when the second batch of troops will be relocated An artillery live-fire training area is planned on the Pacific island of Tinian for Marines to be stationed in Guam but the plan has faced opposition from residents concerned about the impact on the environment A senior Defense Ministry official said there is still no prospect of the training area opening there The realignment project is estimated to cost $8.6 billion (1.31 trillion yen) Japan agreed to shoulder up to $2.8 billion for the construction of the headquarters buildings barracks and training areas for Marines redeployed in Guam or about 98 percent of the maximum outlays (This article was compiled from reports by Nobuhiko Tajima Marine unit in Okinawa gets new littoral combat duties experts say plan to replace Futenma is the ‘worst solution’ 17 installment of the manga "Outside Director Kosaku Shima," about people being paid to protest the construction of a U.S military base in the Henoko district of Nago Many social media posts characterized it as disinformation publisher of the weekly manga magazine Morning that runs the series issued a joint apology with author Kenshi Hirokane on Oct It clarified that the scene was based on "hearsay and not concrete evidence." The apology also indicated the scene will be revised for the next full volume of the manga Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko in Nago is a longstanding sore spot among locals and others Protesters continue expressing concerns about the base's harmful impact on the community and destruction of nature The scene in question involves Shima during a visit to the prefecture "Lots of people take part in protests as a part-time job" and "I was also once hired and paid to do this."  when Hirokane and editors visited Okinawa to conduct research for the manga they included it following a resident telling them "There are part-time jobs that pay participants in the protests against constructing a new base in Henoko."  "I meant it to be just a regular moment in the story It is disappointing that it ended up like this," Hirokane said during an interview with The Asahi Shimbun on Oct a report aired by Tokyo Metropolitan Television Broadcasting Corp came under fire for the same reason when it asserted that protesters in Henoko were receiving daily payments The Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization's Broadcasting Ethics Committee flagged the ethicalness of the claim a senior administrator of the antiwar organization Okinawa Heiwa Undo Center admonished the author for not addressing the larger issue “Hirokane should have focused on the essence of the matter—the reasons why we need to protest the relocation,” he said (This article was written by Satoshi Yamazaki and Satsuki Tanahashi.) Okinawa Defense Bureau staffer derides citizens lodging protest Exit poll: 62% of unaffiliated Okinawa voters pick Tamaki Activist goes on hunger strike to protest Henoko base relocation Survey: 68% of Okinawans feel opinions ignored over U.S Japan's Defense Ministry on Saturday began ground improvement work on the Oura Bay side of the Henoko coastal area in Okinawa Prefecture base relocation project in the southernmost prefecture The work is expected to be difficult due to the unusual depth of the soft ground It is part of the project to build a replacement facility for the U.S Okinawa.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); the Defense Ministry began dropping sand on the seabed using a special work vessel It plans to drive metal pipes into the seabed and harden the sand inside to create some 71,000 so-called sand piles The soft ground is believed to extend as far as 90 meters below the sea surface while the ground improvement work is planned for depths of up to 70 meters The ministry's Okinawa Defense Bureau has said that the work can "sufficiently ensure the stability of structures." Okinawa Gov Denny Tamaki told reporters at the prefectural government office Friday that he will closely monitor whether stability can be ensured The Defense Ministry applied to Okinawa Prefecture for a design change to the base relocation project in 2020 following the discovery of the soft ground but the central government approved the change by proxy last December The ministry has since accelerated preparations including the construction of seawalls on the Oura Bay side starting in August The government aims to reduce the budren of hosting U.S military bases on Okinawa Prefecture while maintaining the nation’s powers of deterrence Marine Corps has begun its transition from the prefecture to the U.S please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent The government aims to reduce the burden of hosting U.S Japan also aims to steadily implement a plan to relocate the U.S military’s Futenma Air Station in Ginowan to the Henoko district of Nago in the prefecture while making efforts to obtain the understanding of local people The relocation is a key concern involving U.S Defense Minister Gen Nakatani met with Nago Mayor Taketoyo Toguchi in the city on Saturday “We are doing everything we can to ensure the [Futenma relocation] work progresses as quickly as possible.” Nakatani also referred to the Marine Corps’ transition to Guam “We will continue making utmost efforts so that the issues needing to be handled are steadily resolved one by one.” Nakatani emphasized the government’s stance of striving to reduce the burden on the prefecture “It’s important to alleviate the fears of city residents and protect their living environment.” In addition to the relocation of Futenma Air Station marines stationed in Okinawa Prefecture to Guam has been a key element of the realignment plan for U.S The total cost of the transition to Guam is about $8.6 billion for both Japan and the United States with Japan shouldering up to $2.8 billion of the amount the Japanese government paid about $2.75 billion to construct facilities to accommodate marines in Guam The transition has finally begun many years after 2006 when the two governments reached an agreement on the issue “We want to convey to Okinawa Prefecture that real progress is being made in the reduction of local people’s burdens.” the security situation in East Asia has been worsening due to China’s advancement and North Korea’s progress in developing nuclear weapons and missiles Marine Corps plans to keep its 12th Marine Littoral Regiment which would respond to a military contingency on a remote island in Okinawa Prefecture the Japanese government plans to upgrade the Ground Self-Defense Force’s 15th Brigade This will enhance the SDF’s powers of deterrence and response capabilities The government is also preparing to cope with a military contingency in Taiwan by building facilities for utilizing private-sector ports and airports to protect Japanese nationals in an emergency and for training in peacetime Six years have passed since the placement of earth and sand began on Dec in connection with the relocation of Futenma Air Station to the Henoko district Nakatani inspected the site of the landfill and confirmed the progress that has been made He also exchanged opinions with local people in districts neighboring the area to which the air station will be moved As legal battles are almost concluded with the Okinawa prefectural government landfill work is expected to progress smoothly from now on But some of the work on the side facing Oura Bay is expected to be highly difficult because soft ground was discovered “Methods for improving the foundation have often been successful in the past and the new air station can be built without any problem.” Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting © 2025 The Japan News - by The Yomiuri Shimbun our takes and other stuff you should know about public information government accountability and ethical leadership in Hawaii The members of Civil Beat’s editorial board focused on ‘Let The Sunshine In’ are Patti Epler Throw the bum out: Hawaii’s primary election is less than six months away but dozens of people are trying to get Scott Nago several of them with ties to the Republican Party turned out in droves to testify virtually and in writing before the Elections Commission hearing Tuesday afternoon for failure to address election complaints for setting up all mail-in voting and for being in the job way too long — 15 years and counting Maui’s county clerk. But the naysayers dominated and were often brutal in their condemnation of Nago Here’s a sample from written testimony that was submitted “I would like for Mr. Nago to be immediately removed from his positions of Chief Election Officer and immediately arrested and imprisoned,” James Pirtle wrote “Then transferred to the United States Marines for court martial as an enemy combatant along with every single member of the election commission and elections office of Hawaii.” Throughout it all — the meeting went on for hours — Nago listened patiently and commented from time to time Commissioners eventually went into executive session and emerged some time later to explain that a motion to remove Nago from his post failed even though several commissioners clearly want him gone who has for several years now griped about the integrity and legality of the elections office There was also confusion among some members over the motion itself and other proposed motions and whether the meeting was even properly adjourned The reappointment of Nago will be the first agenda item at the next Election Commission meeting chair Michael Curtis told The Blog Wednesday Beware of lobbyists bearing gifts: It’s taken nearly five years but the City and County of Honolulu appears to be close to forbidding city employees — specifically council members and administration officers — from accepting gifts related to their official duties (with some exceptions) At a Honolulu Ethics Commission meeting Wednesday, chair David Monk said he was optimistic for Bill 26’s passage after discussions with City Council Chair Tommy Waters and council member Tyler Dos Santos-Tam But staff are still working on the precise language gifts of “negligible value” would be exempt from the proposed law such as for lei under $25 like practically all goods and services these days in an time of inflation “Gift” is defined as “money or promise of a gift in any other form.” But exemptions would include things like condolence and birthday cards a beverage or snack at a conference or meeting There is also a concern from Dos Santos-Tam that the language on who would be prohibited from giving gifts is too broad persons with an interest that may be affected by performance or non-performance of the official’s or employee’s official duties and any individual seeking official action from is to more narrowly tailor the prohibited-source language An amended version of Bill 26 could be heard by the council in early March Trump-Gabbard 2024?: There’s more buzz that a certain former congresswoman from Hawaii who used to be a Democrat and who once ran for president is on the short list for the all-but-certain Republican nominee for president this year Donald Trump confirmed to Fox News this week that Tulsi Gabbard is among the possible running mates for the 45th president who wants to be the 47th businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Gov Byron Donalds of Florida and South Dakota Gov The GOP race will probably end Saturday when South Carolina Republicans vote in that state’s primary given that Niki Haley is currently trailing by some 30 percentage points in the polls PRP PR: How do people in Hawaii feel about Hawaii A new poll says that 56% of residents believe the state is on “the wrong track,” up from 45% just four years ago That’s just one of many takeaways from Pacific Resource Partnership which represents the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters — the largest construction union in the state which was conducted by Anthology Research of Honolulu: PRP’s interim executive director Josh Magno said in press release that he hoped the “sense of pessimism” about the future of the state might also lead to the “right mix of ideas and innovation to move Hawaii forward.” one in which the carpenter’s super PAC Be Change Now will no doubt be working to elect candidates “to move Hawaii forward.” Marines in Okinawa Prefecture to Guam has started Japan's Defense Ministry said Saturday aimed at reducing Okinawa's burden of hosting U.S troops and maintaining deterrence in the region at the same time began about 19 years after an initial agreement was reached in October 2005 at a meeting of the two countries' foreign and defense ministers.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); made up of about 100 logistics members of the Marine Corps' III Marine Expeditionary Force Someone will no doubt demand a recount: In a 5-4 vote the Hawaii Elections Commission on Tuesday reappointed the chief elections officer to another four-year term But the public meeting over Zoom was lengthy and contentious and it’s clear that Scott Nago has many detractors You can watch the video recording yourself but The Sunshine Blog thinks you might have a better use for that particular 3 hours and 30 minutes many testifiers blame Nago for a litany of things including things that are not really his fault — low voter turnout (it’s called apathy and we’ve had it for years) and the state’s mail-in balloting system (that was the Legislature’s idea) including from the League of Women Voters and Maui County officials who generally described Nago’s performance as excellent and fair and many of the people who have lodged complaints against him in recent years are local Republicans in a state run by Democrats Some of them have challenged their own election losses but failed to reverse the results Work ethic: The Hawaii State Ethics Commission is stepping up its efforts to train all state employees on ethics dos and don’ts especially with large agencies like the Department of Education All state legislators, state employees and members of state boards and commissions must take a live ethics training course and repeat the course every four years All other state employees can take a self-directed online course The Ethics Commission says it is also working to modernize and streamline its operations to give the public greater access to data such as lobbying A more transparent way to hire: A joint resolution to tweak the process for filling three high-ranking jobs in state government moved quietly forward Wednesday with no testimony and no discussion before the House Legislative Management Committee state ombudsman and Legislative Reference Bureau director Noting that in the past the Legislature has filled the posts with no public input the resolution calls for the establishment of a candidate advisory committee that would recruit candidates evaluate their applications and hold a hearing to accept public testimony on the finalist nominees before they are recommended to the full Legislature The committee would include three senators and three representatives and would be chaired by a former state auditor The resolution moves next to the House floor and if it’s passed there Just when the proposed committee would go to work is unclear Six-year terms expired in 2022 for Ombudsman Robin Matsunaga who is technically termed out since he’s served since 1998 and for LRB director Charlotte Carter-Yamauchi They are known as holdovers since the Legislature ultimately decides the timing of the appointments Auditor Les Kondo’s eight-year term expires April 30 All three jobs are typically filled during a joint session of the Legislature It was Beth-Ann who gave Civil Beat a leg up early in our young life when she invited then-Editor John Temple to be on her show soon after CB launched in 2010 She was also a staple in the much-beloved Gridiron cast for many years along with her husband Bill Sage who helped write many of the production numbers Most recently she has been executive director for the Hawaii Arts Alliance “I leave the home my family has known for 35 years with many mixed emotions and bittersweet memories — and with hope to return to visit whenever that is possible,” she said in an email this week “One of my favorite expressions is ‘Man plans life often intervenes to change our direction.” Okinawa Prefecture—The Defense Ministry on Aug 20 began driving piles to solidify the soft seabed in Oura Bay on the north side of Henoko for the controversial relocation of a U.S Construction is now in full swing in areas with weak seabed for the relocation of U.S Futenma Air Station in Ginowan to the Henoko district in Nago The Okinawa Defense Bureau had applied to change the design of the construction work on the north side of Henoko to shore up the soft seabed But the prefectural government refused to approve the ministry-proposed changes citing insufficient ground surveys and other reasons the land minister granted approval by proxy on behalf of Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki an unusual “substitute execution” that legally allowed the construction work to proceed the bureau began construction of a material storage area in January The bureau had told the prefectural government that full-scale construction would begin on or after Aug The Defense Ministry will drive piles into the ground at depths of up to 70 meters below the sea surface to solidify the seabed the ministry will fill the area with sand and soil to reclaim the land from the sea the prefectural government has pointed out that the portion of the seabed that needs to be shored up may extend 90 meters below the surface Even if construction proceeds as planned by the ministry it is estimated that the work will take about 12 years before the replacement facility is ready for use the then Okinawa governor approved an application for land reclamation by the Defense Ministry the ministry dumped earth and sand on the south side of Henoko one-fourth of the planned area to be reclaimed The prefectural government had opposed the construction the prefectural government lost a lawsuit over the rejection of a design change application at the Supreme Court 20 (Jiji Press) — Japan’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday began its first full-scale U.S which involves the construction of seawalls on the Oura Bay side with soft ground Marine Corps’ Futenma air station in the Okinawa city of Ginowan The ministry plans to fill in the area surrounded by the seawalls with soil Following the discovery of the soft ground on the Oura Bay side land minister Tetsuo Saito gave proxy approval for a design change to the base relocation project in December last year after Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki refused to approve the change The ministry’s Okinawa Defense Bureau then notified the prefectural government in June that it would end prior consultation with the prefecture side and launch the full-scale Oura Bay work as early as Aug Big Island Video News HAWAIʻI ISLAND - The program was created in partnership with Hui Okinawa which has helped organize these student visits since 2012 returned home safely after an action-packed week on Hawaiʻi Island The students came to the island through the County’s Sister Cities program which aims to bolster ties between Hawaiʻi County and other cities worldwide Students were selected from four middle schools in Nago City and came as part of an ongoing exchange to sharpen their English-speaking skills by having the opportunity to speak to native English speakers and learn about Hawaiian culture “We are excited to have had the opportunity to join Hui Okinawa in welcoming such eager learners from Nago City,” said Mayor Mitch Roth “It’s always great to share our island with guests and it’s even better when they’re students who show a genuine interest in our rich host culture Mahalo to all the individuals and organizations who came together to help make this exchange between the County and our Sister City a great success.” The program was created in partnership with Hui Okinawa including finding the families to host them six local families in Hilo hosted the students for a homestay experience for a weekend the students participated in a variety of activities including interacting with students from Hilo High School and West Hawaiʻi Explorations Academy middle school Huliheʻe Palace and coffee picking at UCC farm “Hui Okinawa has supported this Nago Study abroad program since its inception in 2012 and appreciates all those that coordinated the program and now the County of Hawaii,” said Robert Kaneshiro “We also would like to thank the many host families and organizations that supported Nago’s program.” they learned the basics of hula dancing with Kumu Keala Ching and got treated to a canoe paddling activity organized by the paddling clubs in Kona The Kona Okinawa Kenjenkai also served them dinner in Kona and the Japanese Cultural Center of Kona hosted a farewell dinner for the group on Saturday Filed Under: Hawaii Tagged With: Copyright © 2025 · Dynamik-Gen on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in Nago Grocery Store is a beautiful souvenir store located in downtown Nago Nago is the largest Northern city on the main island of Okinawa and the city has a slower pace than Naha This store is located on the second floor in the Nago Municipal Market a building complex which houses traditional stores selling fresh meat and seafood as well as fruits and vegetables this is a home goods and souvenir shop as well as a cafe The store feels like an unexpected find as it is very different in appearance and function from the surrounding stores in the complex The store is dedicated to selling various artisan crafts that are created by local artists from Nago City and various packaged snacks are among some of the items that are available Health foods and local natural soaps are also showcased Everything seems to be tastefully chosen and the selection is curated It is hard to leave the store without buying something The atmosphere of the store is classy and quiet with natural wood shelving and tropical plants The store acts as a small cafe as well with tea and coffee drinks that can be ordered to go or enjoyed in a limited counter seat space They serve a local black tea from Okinawa (Kanigawa) that has won awards The iced coffee is very refreshing in the summer heat There are also canned or bottled local juices and packaged local teas on the store shelves Nago Grocery Store is open daily from 10:30 a.m It makes a nice stop on the way back from the Churaumi Aquarium or Kouri Island Nago Grocery Store is on the 2nd floor of the Nago Municipal Market There is parking in the local area and validation if you shop at the store the new Prologo Nago R4 Pas 3DMSS claims to be the lightest 3D-printed saddle on the market but it stays heavy on performance and comfort features they print the cushioning with more or less support to cushion where it’s needed based on how and where you’re sitting on it: Starting with they MyOwn pressure mapping research and experience with the standard Nago saddles, they identified three distinct zones. This “Multi Sector System” design is already used on many of their other saddles, including the excellent XC race saddle I included in my Editor’s Choice list for 2023 But those all use different foam densities to achieve the varied support they use 3D-printed lattice structures to provide the different support levels The material of each zone has different elastic coefficients so it’s not just the shapes that vary with a full-length center relief channel and cutout which is lightweight and has just enough flex to keep it comfortable The Nack (Nano Carbon Fiber) rail are carbon fiber with Kevlar and aluminum filaments for maximum stiffness The Prologo Nack R4 Pas 3DMSS will be available in April for €420 Prologo.it Tyler Benedict is the Founder of Bikerumor.com where he’s been writing about the latest bikes and cycling technology for almost two decades Tyler launched and built multiple sports nutrition brands and consumer goods companies mostly as an excuse to travel and ride in new places Based in North Carolina, Tyler also loves the Vanlife & family adventure travel and is always on the lookout for the next shiny new part and off-grid adventure Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed sweat and grease accumulating inside.How do You even clean it throuroughly Funnily washes through these quite quickly Tested the Lizard Skins 3d printed grips – You can’t clean every nook and cranny and all kind of dirt just accumulates over time The accumulated dirt provides extra compliance over time No way you are keeping this design clean with “just a garden hose and soap and water.” Good luck with that “strategy.” Dirt will absolutely accumulate in all those crevices over time For that price you can almost get a proper custom solution like the posedla joyseat Also goes down to 150ish g in the new 2.0 version unless this saddle fits you perfectly already Hardly news anymore that brand X puts out a 3D printed saddle There are more to come and it’s always gonna follow the same spiel To my mind – at least the major brands – are missing out on the great advantage of 3D printing which to my mind is the opportunity to make each saddle 100% custom What’s achieved by this saddle that could not have been done with any conventional methods of manufacturing or materials? With conventional methods you would not have e a gazillion small crevices to attract and hold dirt over time you could not use the marketing spiel that it’s “3D printed” and you’d have a harder time charging a silly price for it Custom is the only way when using 3D printing. Lukas has pointed this out above: https://bikerumor.com/prologo-nago-r4-3d-printed-saddle/#comment-3523058 Czech them out [pun intended]: https://posedla.com/ but don’t want to deal with solvents Simpyfast claims their Lube Cube is the easiest way Peak Performance expands on their MTB specific clothing with new pants Apparently that’s an option when you’re designing products for the GOAT We spotted Cofidis racing an all-new prototype wireless 13-speed Campagnolo Super Record 13 WRL SC road groupset Canyon Bicycles is now selling select models directly through Amazon.com Want wireless shifting but don’t want to have to buy a whole new drivetrain Be protected from the sun with the new UV Hooded Trail Shirt… OrNot The new Van Nicholas Astraeus is a beautiful titanium road bike that’s limited to just 50 frames This work, Nago Cherry Blossom Festival 2020, by Sgt Brennan Beauton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright Monday (May 5) for more than 3,200 seats on city councils Rui Nago walks the talk as chief strategy officer at Grey Tokyo leading the agency to significant wins such as Spikes Asia Agency of the Year 2022 as well as 2021 APAC Effie wins for campaigns on Pride Hair (P&G) and VS Series Olympics (SKII) Rui joined Grey in 2010 and has been instrumental in developing the brand creative and communication strategies for many of Grey Tokyo’s global clients.  But "strategist" sounds too intellectual and serious to me I believe strategists in this industry should be more right-brained and more curious about humanity compared to strategists in other industries such as business consultancy or data analytics.   I'm a little embarrassed to be called a "strategist" I want to add something before "strategist" like "Creative strategist" or "brand strategist" it sounds more fitting though I know these are also not simple descriptors… But I love campaigns that embrace the imperfections that make us human —our fragility basically one that celebrates human nature in its wholeness Harvey Nichols's "Sorry I Spent It On Myself" campaign is one of my favourites and one I really respect Rui> "Document 72 Hours" is a Japanese TV documentary series where the director and cameraman stay in one location for a fishermen's convenience store in northern Japan or a sandwich stand in a nightlife district we get a glimpse into people's lives as they open up and share These are real people whom we might never get to meet at a focus group.   The program really reminds me of a simple fact that everyone and they lead a life just like any of us.  Rui> The moment when I discover the "truth" one that provides us with a new perspective of our world That's the moment of realisation that gives me an adrenaline rush Rui> "Why does this brand exist in this era?" I tend to revisit this question over and over again Rui> There is a classical Japanese poetry style called renga collaborative and improvisational poetry made by two poets and the second poet reacts to it with a latter part I always love working with creatives with whom I can do renga together Rui> There is nothing else strategists can do other than to prove it.  Rui> The ability of the strategist to look at the world from a different perspective.  I think we've come to the point where the meaning of effectiveness should change It should no longer be a "brand likability has increased xx%" type of effectiveness it has to be more about how effective it is at changing old rules biases and moving society forward through the power of brands and creativity We should provide our expertise and talent to support business transformation new service creation and more instead of just creating an advertising campaign.  Rui> Keep your eyes on society and humans This work, Service members bring Christmas cheer to the Okinawa Airakuen Sanatorium, by SSgt Danielle Prentice, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright This work, Okinawa Marines recognized for Teaching English in community, by Cpl Jonah Baase, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright Nago Castle Park is a spacious facility featuring not only an area for viewing cherry blossoms and other flowers but also a history-nature zone It is a great place to commune with nature and enjoy a variety of sports The city is also famous for its cherry blossom festival held when the Ryūkyū kanhizakura is in full bloom to commemorate the “start of spring in Japan.”