As Okinawa’s governor took his seat on entering a conference room, he joked “I’m Zelenskyy!”, then apologized for his flippancy. (26my22)


Splendor of Okinawa: Senna alata, along wall in Uruma, 21my22


On 25 May, Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki attended the Advisory Board meeting on US Military base issues. As he took his seat on entering the meeting room, he greeted the online participants with, “Nice to meet you! I’m Zelenskyy.” Immediately, he neutralized it with, “It’s a joke!” However, when questioned about the real point of it at a press conference the same day, he apologized with, “It was flippant.”

　

Prior to the scheduled start of the meeting, the governor and committee members had been freely discussing the Ukraine situation just as they were entering the meeting room. At the press conference, the governor explained, “As I was taking my seat, we were talking about President Zelenskyy. The comment was meaningless.” He noted, “I want a peaceful life to return to the people of Ukraine as soon as possible and that’s my honest feeling without any question.”


Moreover, the governor apologized profusely, “There is nothing in the least to make light of in Ukraine’s situation. I am sincerely sorry that I invited any misunderstanding with my remark.” 


Original Japanese article: Okinawa Times, published Thursday 26 May 2022 at 06:11. Byline: Daisuke Oshiro 

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/3ba4b9c75ade405fd5a9afb8c66dfb3fb870df59


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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