Free Republic

Last week, the discovery of the oldest known piece of artificially colored jewelry in Japan was unveiled. Although the Mainchi reported that the 23,000-year-old bead was actually unearthed five years ago, the finding was made only made public this month in anticipation of its debut at the Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum in Naha, Japan. The bead, which is considered a prime example of early creative development, is expected to provide valuable information about Paleolithic culture. The bead was carved from a tusk shell and painted with a red pigment, only of which traces remain in the groove of...

The Japanese and U.S. governments have reached a broad agreement under which the United States will return port facilities at Naha Naval Port in Naha and the Makiminato Service Area in Urasoe, Okinawa Prefecture, to Japan, government sources said Saturday. The functions of the two facilities would be integrated with those at Camp Courtney in Uruma in the prefecture, they added. According to the sources, the United States told Japan that the facilities' return must be complimented by a solution to the long-running dispute over the relocation of the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station. To ensure...