Unexploded US ordnance from WWll at Kurashiki Dam; governor asks Japanese Government for investigation, shuts down drawing its water until safety confirmed. (19fe22)

Unexploded ordnance including small arms ammunition and such were discovered at Kurashiki Dam, which straddles the cities of Okinawa and Uruma in Okinawa Prefecture. On 18 February it was learned that the ammunition seemed to be US-made for use in the WWll Okinawa Campaign.


According to the Ground Self Defense Force (GSDF), a total of 725 rounds were recovered. The location was on a section of the Kadena Ordnance Depot ruins that had been returned to Japan. The era when metal barrel-like objects found at the same site had been in use is unknown. Until the Prefectural Enterprise Bureau determines that the situation is safe with no pollution, the collection of water from Kurashiki Dam for tap water has been halted.


On 18 February, Governor Denny Tamaki held a press conference. He pleaded, “The provision of totally safe water is essential for the peace of mind of our prefecture’s people. Are we still stuck with this sort of situation from the past? I want to get the Okinawa Defense Bureau to conduct an investigation.”


The Okinawa Defense Bureau responded for Ryukyu Shimpo reporting, “Our staff on site have determined the condition of the waste material. We will act in unison with the Prefecture to deal suitably with the situation.”


On 7 February, the 15th Brigade of the GSDF gathered a total of 725 rounds of ammunition: 48 US-made 81mm mortar shells,  7 US-made rifle grenades,  668 rounds of small arms ammunition of unknown origin, and 2 cartridge cases. The Prefecture claims 2 barrel-like cylindrical objects and artillery shell parts were also found.They were not an explosion risk. So, the GSDF did not collect them, deciding to regard them as scrap metal.

 

According to the Prefecture, a water quality inspection is done once or twice a year at the dam. In the most recent inspection in October of 2021, no problems with the water were found.


Original Japanese article: Ryukyu Shimpo, published Saturday 19 February 2022 at 06:04. Byline: Akira Minato

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/44352a5604a41a726b2b0ce742c4327e1dcde72a


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. 

  2. Any suggestion on improving the translation will be gratefully accepted. However, please leave political comments for another forum.

  3. 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 gratefully appreciated.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In the suit over exercise of proxy in the case of the weak seabed at the new Henoko base, judgment to be handed down on 20 December. (4de23)

Image
Splendor of Okinawa: Shrubby Bush Clover, roadside Uruma, 30no23 The seabed at the new base construction site at Henoko in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, is weak and needs reinforcement. So, the Okinawa Defense Bureau requested permission for the necessary design changes, but Governor Denny Tamaki refused. In response, the Government intends to exercise proxy to give itself permission in place of the governor. The Naha Branch of the Fukuoka High Court announced on 29 November that it will hand down its judgment in the lawsuit filed over the case at 2 pm on 20 December. At the trial on 30 October, Governor Denny Tamaki emphasized in the first oral arguments, “We can in no way accept this exercise of proxy, which violates the autonomy and independence of Okinawa.”  He further stressed the will of the prefecture’s people in opposition to the new base construction as the ‘Public will’. In addition, he requested to show that the  path to resolution lay in dialogue. The trial was conclud...
Read more

Governor Denny receives the report on JUNGLIA at the 4 month mark after its opening. (7de25)

Image
Splendor of Okinawa: Temple Tree, Mihama Beach, 1de25 CEO Takeshi Kato of Japan Entertainment (JE), which manages JUNGLIA Okinawa, visited Governor Denny Tamaki at the Prefectural Office on 28 November.  　 The CEO reported on the 4 months since the attraction’s opening. He repeatedly brought up dealing with operational improvements and such based on the voices of visitors to the park.  　 The CEO specifically mentioned the evening concerts in the park’s garden and, starting from December, the free entry of one child with each adult, targeting the prefecture’s people. CEO Kato stated, “We’d like to be contributing to Okinawa’s tourism as well.” Governor Tamaki, alluding to his speech the same day, entitled “Declaration on Sustainable Tourism”, stated, “For the people, employees, and tourists of our prefecture, this is an important win-win format. We’d like to have JE’s cooperation in many, many more initiatives.” Original Japanese article: Ryukyu Shimpo, published Sunday 30 Nov...
Read more

In Okinawa, Candidate Takara takes hold of the Henoko opposition parties as their new face, urging,”Let’s earnestly come to grips with these issues together.” (21jy25).

Image
Splendor of Okinawa: Mexican Petunia, Gushikawa RC Church, 13jy25. In the House of Councilors Election for the Okinawa Election District, independent candidate Sachika Takara (46), endorsed by All Okinawa, which opposes the relocation of the US Military Futenma Airfield in Ginowan to Henoko in Nago, both in Okinawa Prefecture, scored a victory. She defeated the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Party’s new candidate Ryo Okuma (38) in the election campaign.  Candidate Takara pledged before her supporters, “The Henoko problem is something our prefecture’s people have taken into our hearts. We’re going to earnestly come to grips with it together.”  With their eyes on a victory in next year’s gubernatorial election, her victory was a bitter blow to the LDP. Governor Denny Tamaki, who held the job of Candidate Takara’s campaign headquarters chief, stressed, “The will of the people in opposition to the relocation remains unshaken.” In recent mayoral elections, All Okinawa’s fortunes ha...
Read more