Hopes and fears build as Junglia Okinawa's opening nears
Construction on Junglia Okinawa as seen from The Asahi Shimbun's corporate plane ahead of its July opening on May 3 in Nakijin, Okinawa Prefecture (Tatsuya Shimada)
NAHA—With a hefty price tag totaling 70 billion yen ($483 million), Junglia Okinawa's roller coaster-esque journey is barreling toward another summit as the theme park's much-anticipated July 25 opening nears.
The construction of a theme park in the northern part of the prefecture is a clear departure from Okinawa's state-led economic promotion measures after the prefecture reverted from U.S. to Japanese rule in 1972.
Junglia is one of the southernmost prefecture's largest private-sector projects ever, but it is not the first. Sour memories are resurfacing in some residents who remember another tourism endeavor that backfired even as expectations rise for the new park.
When finished, Junglia will operate in Yanbaru, the name for the main island's northern half in the region's dialect. The mountainous area is about 90 minutes from the prefectural capital by car.
The park, which will reportedly offer more than 20 attractions, is replacing what was a roughly 60-hectare golf course stretching across Nago and Nakijin. A dinosaur-themed ride and hot air balloon experience are among the attractions with an onsite spa as well.
FAILED UNIVERSAL STUDIOS PROJECT
No major undertaking is ever free from complications.
Before Junglia, the operator of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka announced it was opening a park in the northern part of Okinawa's main island 10 years ago.
The central government strongly backed USJ LLC's project, with then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga saying a new theme park was the key component of the government's economic promotion measures for the prefecture.
However, the project plans were withdrawn about a year later after USJ's management was reshuffled.
Dreams of building a theme park in the area would lie dormant until 2018 when marketing firm Katana Inc. and other companies announced a new plan and set it in motion.
The only remaining tie to USJ was Tsuyoshi Morioka, who played a key role in reviving Universal Studios Japan and went on to found Katana after going independent.
PURPOSEFULLY LOCAL
The local business community has high hopes for Junglia.
Unlike other extensive projects, the park's operator Japan Entertainment Inc. is based in the prefecture and was specifically founded in June 2018 as part of Katana's efforts for the theme park and larger goal of revitalizing Okinawa.
Local ownership may provide Okinawa with a better chance to rebound from the unintended 'zaru keizai' (sieve economy) conundrum.
The situation is the unfortunate outcome of the government introducing subsidies in an effort to eliminate the financial disparity between the island prefecture and the mainland; Okinawa was ruled by the U.S. military for 27 years following the end of World War II while Honshu experienced rapid economic growth during the same period.
Mainland companies winning contracts for the high-percentage subsidies ultimately made it difficult for locals to benefit from the projects tied to them, something Junglia seeks to avoid.
"It is also a project intended to boost the economy in Okinawa and its northern area," Morioka said during a news conference held in January.
Japan Entertainment has emphasized the importance of hiring locals, saying it will employ a total of about 1,300 full- and part-time workers by the time the park opens.
Junglia's shareholders also include leading Okinawan corporations such as Orion Breweries Ltd., headquartered in Tomigusuku, and Naha-based department store operator Ryubo Holdings Co.
"It is a private sector-led project of an unprecedented scale,' said Denichiro Ishimine, Okinawa Electric Power Co. adviser and former head of a council for Okinawa-based economic associations. 'Located at the gateway to Asia, Okinawa has high international competitiveness for its nature and traditional culture originating from the Ryukyu Kingdom era, and the project can help improve the quality of tourism in Okinawa."
Counterbalancing this sentiment are voices of concern over tourist congestion.
Because Junglia is being built between the prefecture's expressway and the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Motobu, which is already popular with tourists, it is feared that chronic traffic snarls, noise and other negative impacts could worsen the living environment.
While Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki said during a prefectural assembly session that the prefectural government intends to make maximum use of Junglia's opening to create jobs and develop infrastructure around the site, he added, "We hope that the park operator will continue providing information to local residents and having conversations with them."
POST-EXPO FALLOUT
Some area residents still hold bitter memories of what came after the economic boom driven by the 1975 Okinawa Ocean Expo.
The expo was held three years after Okinawa's return to Japan as part of the central government's First Okinawa Promotion and Development Plan. Today, the aquarium stands on the expo's former grounds.
Yasukichi Miyagi, 81, a mango farmer in Nakijin near Junglia, owned a construction business at the time.
He worked as a subcontractor for a company outside the prefecture while the expo venue, roads and other facilities were being built. This work required he purchase a small fleet of heavy machinery and hire enough people to fill orders.
But the number of expo visitors fell short of the expected 4.5 million during its half-year run, and many companies that made major investments went bankrupt.
Miyagi's firm escaped bankruptcy but he had to cut staff and equipment to barely break even.
Since then, the village's population has decreased by about 40 percent from approximately 15,000 in 1950.
Although Miyagi has a sense of crisis that the village could eventually disappear, Junglia is something positive to talk about. That said, it remains uncertain how the large-scale tourism project will affect the community and if those in charge can prevent history from repeating itself.
"I wonder if it will really work," he mumbled.
'INEVITABLE CHALLENGE' REMAINS
According to Moritake Tomikawa, a former vice governor of Okinawa Prefecture who is now a professor emeritus of economics at Okinawa International University, the addition of Junglia could be a way to solve problems such as depopulation and low-income levels.
This applies not just in comparing the prefecture to the mainland, but the island's regions where the north lags economically behind the south.
Despite the potential windfall, making the prefecture's economy solely dependent on tourism is still an unstable venture because it is easily influenced by external factors—the COVID-19 pandemic being the most devastating example.
The prefectural government previously promoted manufacturing without much success and Okinawa's industrial structure remains weak.
"As we move forward to achieving Okinawa's economic independence, it is an inevitable challenge to develop another industry on par with tourism," Tomikawa said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
2 hours ago
Sulnoon: Serving Up the Authentic Flavor of Pyongyang Cold Noodles in Chiba
Korean-style cold noodles is a familiar dish in Japan, where it is known as reimen . Brought by Korean immigrants in the 1950s, the chewy noodles in chilled broth are relished as a cooling treat during the warmer months and other times of the year. Moon Yeon-hee takes the cuisine back to its northern roots at her restaurant Sulnoon with a recipe for Pyongyang cold noodles that has been in her family for generations. The tradition of making the noodles started with her grandmother, who operated a restaurant specializing in raengmyon , the North Korean variation of the dish, in Haeju in South Hwanghae Province. Her mother also served up bowls as a cook at one of the best hotels in Pyongyang and taught the technique to Moon, who now carries on the culinary tradition. Moon followed a circuitous route to Japan after fleeing her homeland when she was 25. Wanting to share the traditional flavors of her home with Japan, she opened Sulnoon with her Japanese husband in the prefectural capital of Chiba in March 2024. The restaurant's name means 'New Year snow' in Korean, carrying with it an auspicious connotation of good things to come. A bowl of Pyongyang cold noodles at Sulnoon. (© Gomi Yoji) Pyongyang cold noodles are made primarily from buckwheat flour, giving them a distinct fragrance and dark tint not unlike Japanese soba. The dish dates from around North Korea's founding in 1948. It first appeared at stalls and restaurants in the capital and quickly proved a popular favorite, with connoisseurs even purporting that the flavor would haunt the dreams of anyone who had eaten a bowl. The dish has deep cultural and social importance as the culinary symbol of the North Korean capital. When South Korean President Moon Jae-in met his counterpart Kim Jong-un for a historic summit in 2018, the leaders famously dined on raengmyon prepared by a chef from the iconic Pyongyang restaurant Okryugwan, sparking interest in the noodles in the south. Moon notes that most renditions of cold noodles enjoyed today have changed from the original form of the dish. In North Korea, for instance, starch is commonly added to noodles to make them chewier, and chicken is the norm for making the broth rather than pheasant meat, which was used early on. Toppings typically include generous helpings of sliced cucumber and pear along with boiled eggs. In South Korean, too, the dish has taken on a distinct local flair as Pyongyang cold noodle restaurants, most of which were opened by northerners who came around the Korean War (1950–53), have adjusted their offerings to match local tastes. Japan's Morioka reimen is another regional rendition that features wheat noodles stiffened with starch and a soup made from beef, pork, and chicken topped with a hardy serving of kimchi to add a touch of heat and sourness. At Sulnoon, though, Moon recreates the authentic taste of Pyongyang's beloved dish. She makes her noodles in the traditional style with buckwheat flour and uses beef, pork, chicken, and all-natural seasonings to create her stock, making certain to carefully skim off any impurities for a clear broth rich in flavor. Customers who prefer more of a kick can ask for red chili paste, but the clear soup is the best way to experience the original flavor of raengmyon . Moon Yeon-hee at her restaurant Sulnoon, near Keisei Inage Station. (© Gomi Yoji) Whispers from the Outside Moon was born in the eastern port city of Wonsan in 1991, where lived until her parents moved to Pyongyang when she was in junior high. However, her family roots are in the south of the Korean Peninsula and Japan. In the 1930s, her grandparents left their home on Jeju Island and settled in Asakusa in Tokyo, where they served in the leadership of Chongryon (the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan). When North Korea called on Zainichi Koreans (ethnic Koreans living in Japan) to return during the repatriation movement (1959–1984), her grandparents along with her mother and father, who were still children at the time, were among the initial wave of the some 93,000 people who eventually relocated from Japan. Boats moored at a port in Wonsan, North Korea. (© Pixta) Moon's family was well off by North Korean standards. When famine ravaged the country in the mid-1990s, they received financial support from connections in Japan and were mostly untouched by the calamity, although the hordes of orphaned children called kotjebi who roamed the streets in search of food served as a stark reminder of the disaster. Although among the privileged class, Moon began to harbor doubts about her homeland. In high school she witnessed the public execution of a friend who had been caught selling pirated DVDs of South Korean dramas, a shocking event that struck her as inordinately cruel. Having connections with Japan made her and her family members the brunt of discrimination and claims of having been 'poisoned' by capitalist ideas. Moon's skepticism grew, and seeing no future for herself in North Korea, she made the decision to flee to the south. A Treacherous Journey Getting out of the country was an arduous and dangerous task. The first leg of her journey was a 12-hour car ride from Pyongyang north to the border town of Hyesan. There she paid a Chinese broker $3,000 to facilitate her escape. On a dark, rainy May night, she crossed the swollen river dividing North Korea from China alone and spent the next two days waking nonstop without food or water to evade Chinese authorities. Over the next three weeks she made her way by train and car to Laos, where she charged into the South Korean embassy and asked for asylum. A truck crosses from China to North Korea over the Tumen Border Bridge in 2009. (© Jiji) Having made her escape, Moon settled into a new life in South Korea. She initially relied on government support provided to those who had defected from the north, which included a monthly stipend, a one-room apartment, and basic necessities. She found work and studied to become a certified bookkeeper She felt immense gratitude for being welcomed into South Korean society and took citizenship after about a year—she remembers tears welling up in her eyes the first time she looked at her new passport. Her mother and younger brother had also defected, and in 2019 the three opened a Pyongyang cold noodle shop in Seoul. Recreating the Flavor of Home Running her restaurant, it was obvious that her beloved raengmyon was in decline. North Korea was still shut to foreigners due to the pandemic and many of the Pyongyang cold noodle restaurants in China and Southeast Asia had been forced out of business by UN sanctions. In Japan, too, the dish had changed to fit local tastes, making an authentic bowl almost impossible to find. It was around this time that Moon met and married her Japanese husband Katsumata Shigeru. Looking at the state of raengmyon and hearing stories from her parents' time in Asakusa, she was inspired to come to Japan and open a restaurant specializing in cold noodles based on her mother's recipe. When the couple opened Sulnoon, Moon's story drew the media's attention, bringing with it a steady stream of customers eager to try 'real' Pyongyang cold noodles. The cozy shop quickly gained a reputation as a must-try place, and it still enjoys a steady stream of weekend foot traffic. Dappokusha Support Network Moon is among some 200 North Korean defectors, known as dappokusha in Japanese, who have settled in Japan. Most, like Moon, are from long-established Zainichi Korean families. South Korea, by contrast, has around 33,000 North Korean defectors, to whom the government provides training programs and other assistance to aid in adjusting to life in the country, which has enabled many to forge successful careers in fields like journalism, politics, and business. Japan, on the other hand, lacks a well-established support system for dappokusha . The Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan) offers some assistance, but the amount is far below what most recipients need to become fully independent. Subsequently, many dappokusha are forced into insecure jobs in construction or the night entertainment industry just to make ends meet. Dappokusha are stigmatized in Japan, but Moon is open about being from North Korean and readily shares about her life and experiences in the country as well as her escape. She is aware that some people are prejudiced toward Koreans, but she is undaunted by such views, declaring that 'I want to show what life is like for North Koreans. It's a dark reality, but by being frank and upfront about it, I want to change people's perspective for the better.' Looking Back, Looking Forward Japan has proved to be different from what Moon initially expected. 'In South Korea, I often heard that Japanese can be quite cold and distant,' she says. 'But nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone has been so incredibly kind and supportive.' She looks forward to interacting with her customers each day, some of whom have traveled from as far away as Hokkaidō and Okinawa just to taste her Pyongyang cold noodles, and takes great pleasure in hearing their satisfied exclamations after a meal. The homemade kimchi she serves at the restaurant has been especially well received, and Moon's next ambition is to establish a factory to up production, confidently declaring, 'I've set myself a goal of five years.' Moon packs her homemade kimchi. (© Gomi Yoji) Moon has big dreams, including opening restaurants in other areas of Japan. As she plans for the future, she takes strength from her memory of crossing the swollen river at the North Korean border on that dark, rainy night. 'Nothing compares to the fear I felt at that moment,' she says, a smile spreading across her face. 'Not even close.' The interior of Sulnoon. (© Yamashita Tatsuo) Sulnoon 2-5-27 Chitose Building 1F, Inage Ward, Chiba, Chiba Prefecture Tel.: 043-216-2866 Open 11:30 am to 2:30 pm for lunch, 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm for dinner (except on Tuesdays) Closed Wednesdays and the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: Moon Yeon-hee and her husband Katsumata Shigeru; Sulnoon's specialty, Pyongyang cold noodles. © Gomi Yoji.)
Kyodo News
5 hours ago
- Kyodo News
India PM Modi eyes visit to Japan in August for bullet train deal
KYODO NEWS - 2 hours ago - 19:11 | All, World, Japan The Japanese and Indian governments are arranging for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Japan in late August for talks with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, diplomatic sources said Saturday. The two leaders are expected to agree on India's adoption of a next-generation shinkansen bullet train being developed by East Japan Railway Co. for a high-speed rail project underway in western India, the sources said. They may also agree to revise the 2008 Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation to expand their security partnership amid China's increasing maritime prowess, they said. The visit would be Modi's first since May 2023, when he attended the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, western Japan. Modi and Ishiba also aim to strengthen communication ahead of a four-way summit with the United States and Australia under the Quad framework, which New Delhi is set to host in the fall. The high-speed rail line will connect the western Indian cities of Ahmedabad and Mumbai, covering about 500 kilometers in roughly two hours. The project is considered a symbol of Japan-India cooperation, as it will use Japan's renowned shinkansen technology. JR East aims to complete the E10 series carriages in the fall of 2027 at the earliest, with commercial operation starting in fiscal 2030. In their meeting, Modi and Ishiba are expected to confirm plans to introduce the E10 series in the early 2030s, according to the sources. Through the revised security declaration, the two sides are expected to agree on strengthening comprehensive cooperation in broader areas, including space and cybersecurity, the sources said.
Kyodo News
6 hours ago
- Kyodo News
U.S. asked Japan to raise defense spending to 3.5% of GDP
KYODO NEWS - 8 minutes ago - 20:15 | All, Japan, World U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has asked Japan to raise its defense spending to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product, a request that will likely prompt Tokyo to call off a planned high-level meeting with Washington, a Japan-U.S. diplomatic source said Saturday. The request was made recently by Elbridge Colby, U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, the Financial Times has reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Colby, a seasoned strategist, had previously pressed Japan to increase its defense spending to 3 percent of its GDP. The increased demand will likely lead Japan to cancel a planned meeting of the countries' foreign and defense chiefs, which was scheduled in Washington before Japan's House of Councillors election, expected on July 20. The meeting would have been the first since Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump took office in October and January, respectively. Kyodo News reported in late May that Japan and the United States were considering holding the so-called two-plus-two security talks in Washington this summer. Japan and the United States had not formally said such talks, as held in July last year in Tokyo, would take place. In 2022, after Trump's first term, Japan decided to double its annual defense budget to 2 percent of GDP by 2027, a dramatic move in postwar security policy under the country's war-renouncing Constitution. But Trump continues to complain that the U.S.-Japan security treaty is one-sided, with his administration apparently planning to ask Tokyo to pay more for American troops based in the Japanese archipelago once bilateral negotiations over his tariffs proceed.
