Okinawa’s governor at a critical moment with only one year left in his term: halting Henoko snagged on a reef and his power of attraction waning. (3oc21)

Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki will welcome the completion of his third year in office on 4 October. With only one year left in his term, his campaign promise to halt the move of the US Military Futenma Airfield in Ginowan to Henoko in Nago is still snagged on a reef. He is facing a critical juncture as he looks toward reelection in the gubernatorial election next fall, his remarkable power of attraction is on the wane,  with defectors one after another from his “All Okinawa” party, the base of his support where he had unified both the right and the left.

”I lament the inadequacy of my power.” Thus did Governor Tamaki candidly answer, when asked about the state of All Okinawa at a press conference on 1 October. Tamaki was first elected in the the gubernatorial election of 2018, as the chosen successor for former Governor Takeshi Onaga after his sudden death in 2018.


In the background of such popular feelings as “Oppose  the move!” which yielded him over 70% of the popular vote, Tamaki petitioned the national government to withdraw the planned move, but time and again his court cases aimed at halting construction were lost. In the face of a bit by bit advance of  the dumping of dirt and such into the sea at the site, he has been unable to show an effective way to counter it.


Meanwhile, there have been defections from All Okinawa by conservative Assembly members who were linked to it out of a longing for Governor Onaga, a former LDP member, and by big sponsors in the business community. People around Tamaki shrug their shoulders, “Just after he took office, the power of attraction that Onaga had left behind was immense. But that just couldn’t be totally maintained.”


As the new year opens in the prefecture, following the Nago and Okinawa city mayoral and other elections, the pre-skirmishes for the gubernatorial election will also take place. As for Governor Tamaki, with next year’s elections for both the House of Representatives and House of Councilors before his eyes, his thought is that the string of elections will once again give rise to the momentum for “halt the move” and the bounce he wants for the gubernatorial election.


Original Japanese article: Jiji Press, published Sunday 3 October 2021 at 07:09

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/3dfab4f96cd9c7d1d33212cace8e7072329ddf4e


Translator’s note:

Denny in the News: news about Okinawan Governor Denny Tamaki.

Denny Tamaki is the governor of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. Although Okinawa is important as an international tourist destination and a key element in strategic US Military Forces, its governor receives very little coverage in the Japanese press and almost none in the English language media. 

  1. This blog hopes to  translate one news article a day on the governor.  It is unsponsored and unauthorized. The translator simply hopes to improve his skills and perhaps give the governor an English speaking audience. Any suggestion on improving the translation will be gratefully accepted. However, please leave political comments for another forum.

  2. Where they occur, words and phrases in Ryukyuan (the Okinawan language) are rendered in italics and translated in parentheses. Names  whose readings are uncertain are rendered as Name (=Kanji?) as in Nagayuki (=長行?). Any corrections in such instances would be of great help.

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