At the Ryukyu Shimpo and Mainichi Shimbun Symposium, Governor Tamaki speaks on Okinawa’s future and the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) 50 years after Reversion in “Our Contribution to Asian Development.” (29ap22)

 


Splendor of Okinawa: Monks cress along Uruma roadside


(TOKYO) What was Okinawa’s change of governments all about? A symposium exploring the current situation and its issues entitled “Reconsidering 50 years since Okinawa Reversion”, sponsored by the Ryukyu Shimpo, Asahi Shimbun, with the general public group Asian Research as joint host and backing by BS-TBS, was held  on  28 April at the Japan Press Center in Chiyodaku, Tokyo.


In his keynote speech, Governor Denny Tamaki explained the current overwhelming physical and psychological burdens associated with the concentration of US Military bases in Okinawa. He further touched on the history of cultural exchange between every part of Asia and Okinawa, as well as Okinawa’s wartime experience and its unique geographical position. 

In light of those factors, he made a proposal for Okinawa’s future path, “On the one hand we should work together to ameliorate the tensions between the US and China and on the other to create a virtuous circle where Okinawa develops and contributes to the security and development of the entire Asia-Pacific region.”


For the panel discussion, Miki Makiya of the Okinawa Sustainable Development Research Center and 4 others took the stage. The Asian Research Center Chairman Iokibe Igarashi took up the question of whether or not  reform was possible in the SOFA between the US and Japan. He postulated that, in addition to the necessity for research toward reform, as the Prime Minister took leadership in the reversion to Japan, so now “Unless the Prime Minister himself makes a resolute request to the US President, nothing will change.”

 

Original Japanese article: Ryukyu Shimpo, published Friday 29 April 2022 at 05:19. Byline: Manabu Saito 

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/36f95154aff83ef096aeedba24747ae8ffe49b29


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.

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