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Lady Gaga on Japan: It's safe, food's great

by AP

Lady Gaga says that if you want to help Japan recover from its tsunami disaster, come visit. The flamboyant pop star, in Tokyo this week for a benefit concert for tsunami victims, said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press that she's making a point to get out and enjoy the city and its food, and that her fans should do the same thing. "I can't say enough to people all over the world that the majority of Japan right now, Japan in general, is very safe," she said. "It's fine to come here. It's beautiful." (AP)

Okinawa marks 66th anniversary of WWII battle

by Kyodo

Okinawa Prefecture on Thursday marked the 66th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa that killed more than 200,000 people in the closing days of World War II. During a memorial ceremony attended by Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima reiterated his calls on the Japanese and U.S. governments to reduce U.S. bases in Okinawa to lessen the burden on local residents and to "relocate the dangerous Futenma Air Station outside of the prefecture with no further delay." After almost 40 years since its return to Japan in 1972 following postwar U.S. occupation, the small island prefecture still hosts about 75 percent of all U.S. military facilities in Japan in terms of land area.