Okinawa prefectural governor, Keiichi Inamine visited Zamami village on Tuesday, March 28th. Zamami village is on Zamami island of Kerama Archipelago. The population of Zamami village is about 1200. Unlike other villages, the population of this village is increasing, thanks to sightseeing business such as diving and whale watching. 60 % of the people there work for sightseeing businesses. Keiichi Inamine spent most of his time observing pearl farms during his visit to the island. “Kerama Pearl” is a small company consisting of only four workers. The sales of “Kerama Pearls”, which are grown in the beautiful clean ocean of Zamami island, has been increasing while farmers of pearls of mainland of Japan are struggling with increased infection of pearl oysters. “Kerama Pearls” also started production of black pearls recently. Zamami village is planning to build a website that will enable sightseeners to buy tickets for ferries and reserve inns on the island.
