The COVID-19 and The Memorial Events for founder Shoshin Nagamine in Okinawa

April 9, 2020

A Message from WMKA president Yoshitaka Taira:

The COVID-19 and The Memorial Events for founder Shoshin Nagamine in Okinawa

Dear WMKA members around the world,

The Covid-19 is hurting and killing many people around the world. We can see the up-to-date conditions around the world on TV every day and night. It makes us very sad to know that so many people are losing their precious lives every day and are still in fear of an invisible, colorless and odorless virus. Under this heartbreaking situation, I hope all of you and the people around you are not affected and remain healthy. We have a proverb in Okinawa, “Nuchi-du Takara” which means “Life is a Treasure”. Please stay at home and protect yourself and the people around you. Karate can be practiced any time and any place. Please exercise at home to keep your health, but not too hard to affect your health because you may not be able to get enough food under the current circumstances. We pray from the bottom of our hearts that the Covid-19 will be wiped out around the world and that peaceful everyday life will return as soon as possible.

In Japan, Prime minister Shinzo Abe announced an official “Declaration of a State of Emergency” to the 7-urban areas, Tokyo,Osaka,Saitama,Kanagawa,Chiba, Hyogo & Fukuoka on April 7,2020. The whole of Japan is struggling to fight with Covid-19. A wide range of commercial businesses and facilities were closed or have postponed their schedule. The schools always end in March and start in April in Japan. But all schools were closed two weeks ahead of the scheduled day in March and will open late in April or in May depending on the condition of each area and region.  Many events and activities in April & May were cancelled or postponed based on the current situation. We have all been requested to stay at home as much as possible but not as severely  when compared with overseas countries around the world.

We want to keep the original schedule of “The Memorial Monument Unveiling and Celebration for founder Shoshin Nagamine and Karate-do International Seminar & Exchange Martial Arts 2020”.  We are expecting the Covid-19 will be settled down before October and the whole world will be back normal again. We hope to open the Big Events successfully and safely without any problem based on the current schedule, October 30 to November2,2020. We will be aware of the Covid-19 status and will inform you if we have any change in future. 

 We pray for your good health and want to meet many of you in Okinawa.

Best Regards,

Yoshitaka Taira
President of WMKA