自由民権運動
Historian George H. Kerr says of the newspaper, upon its founding, that it "strengthened leadership and promoted the development of informed opinion on matters of public concern". It has also been described as speaking for the former ruling class of the kingdom. Editor-in-chief Ōta Chōfu, along with others from the newspaper, played a role in the Kōdō-kai Movement, arguing for leadership of the prefecture to remain hereditary within the Shō family, and opposing the Freedom and People's Rights Movement led in Okinawa by, among others, Jahana Noboru.