Was he at a former Unification Church event? Okinawa’s Governor Denny denies Net rumor, “Absolutely no connection at all!” (29jy22)


Splendor of Okinawa: Acalypha Hishida, on wall in Uruma, 28jy22


A photo and story of the attendance of Governor Denny Tamaki at a Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unitification Church, a.k.a. Moonies) event has been posted on the Net. The governor was asked for his take on the story at a press conference on 28 July. He denied it but said that he had taken part in the prefectural local group celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Korea People’s Association (Mindan) in Japan. He bore down on his previous denial, made on 22 July, of any relationship with the former Unification Church, “Absolutely no connection at all!” 


Governor Tamaki explained about the Mindan celebration on 24 November 2020, “As part of my official duties, I was present and gave a congratulatory address.” The suspicion of a relationship arose because of a photo taken of the governor and a prefectural group which had visited Korea in attendance at the Mindan celebration. The photo then was published on the home page of the former Unification Church Federation in the prefecture. The photo has since been deleted from the home page and the governor says this has all been confirmed. He again strongly denied any connection, “There may be more reports on the home pages of some group or other, but I have no connection whatsoever to any such group!”


The governor’s attendance at the Mindan 50th anniversary celebration was announced publicly to the media by the Prefecture in its formal daily governor’s schedule. This paper, too, published the governor’s schedule for it on 23 November 2020. On 27 November, we reported the governor’s greeting at the event. We have also confirmed the entries for those who attended the Mindan celebration in the home page history of the prefecture’s Unification Church Federation. 


(Trans. note: Mindan is a legitimate association of residents of Korean ancestry in Japan, supportive of South Korea, but unrelated to the Unification Church. The reporter failed to make that distinction clear.)


Original Japanese article: Okinawa Times, published Friday 29 July 2022 at 07:17. Byline: Yumiko Shimoji.

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/c6b7ea8f3ae96b65e62b7f15f7eea6bfa74d79cf


Denny in the News: news about 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