Okinawa Prefecture sends off its judgment on the Henoko certification recommendation and its request for a dialog with the Prime Minister. (22ap22)


Splendor of Okinawa: Wax plant on a fence in Uruma


A design change was requested for the construction of a new base at Henoko in Nago for the relocation of the US Military Futenma Airfield. Land, Infrastructure, Transportation, and Tourism Minister Tetsuo Saito recommended that Okinawa Prefecture give the requested certification by 20 April. 

On that day, the Prefecture responded by sending a formal document addressed to the minister stating, “It is necessary to consider our response after examining the contents of your written verdict. It is impossible to make a judgment on certification by 20 April.”  At the same time, the Prefecture sent a request for dialogue, addressed to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, on the Henoko base construction.


The Okinawa Defense Bureau was dissatisfied with the non-certification of the design changes. So, on 8 April, it requested Saito’s ministry for an investigation based on the Administrative Disagreement Investigation Statute. Saito’s ministry accepted the request and judged to void the Prefecture’s non-certification. Based on that judgment, at the same time, the ministry recommended to the Prefecture that certification was wanted by 20 April.


The Prefecture, which has not certified the design changes, claimed that it was impossible to examine the contents of the judgment to void its handling of the problem within such a short time frame, and for that reason, “We cannot judge on the certification.” At the same time, a document under Governor Denny Tamaki’s name asking for a dialogue and addressed to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was sent. 


The contents referred to the Prefectural Popular Referendum on approval or disapproval of the landfill at Henoko. The document pointed out, “It is especially important that the referendum clearly showed that the opinion of the vast majority of the people was opposed to the relocation. So, while looking for a resolution to the problem, we plead for a halt to construction and ask that you respond to the Prefecture’s request for a dialogue.”


The Okinawa Defense Bureau requested the design changes in April of 2020. In November of 2021, the Prefecture noted that the seabed and environmental inspections had been insufficient, and decided not to approve the request. The Prefecture is not expected to give the certification, despite the Ministry’s recommendation. The recommendation from Saito’s ministry has no legal enforceability. As a measure to counteract the Prefecture, Japan can supposedly issue something like a corrective command which might be enforceable. 


For this article, authorities at the ministry stated, “We’d like to consider how to respond after we get the documents sent by the Prefecture.” They clearly plan to wait for the Prefecture’s response. 


Original Japanese article: Ryukyu Shimpo, published Thursday 21 April 2022 at 08:22. Byline: Shohei Tsukazaki

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/9981be87f1b00aa7500b736e3dadf0134cbe4791


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