Governor Tamaki and mayors in the Yaeyama Region of Okinawa are in discord, going nowhere over the supposed emergency reinforcement of defense capability, despite the sense of danger. Yaeyama Daily News reporter Makoto Nakashinjo notes, “The chasm between the people of these outer islands and the governor has only deepened.” (28fe23)


Splendor of Okinawa: Crimson bottle  brush, roadside Uruma, 23fe23.


The reinforcement defense capability has fostered discord within Okinawa Prefecture. Governor Denny Tamaki has criticized the Government’s Security Guarantee Policy for a presumed Taiwan Emergency. In contrast, the mayors of the Yaeyama Region (Ishigaki City, Taketomi District, Yonaguni District), and others skin-close to the Chinese threat are said to feel the governor is only exacerbating the unease.


On 14 February, in his New Year’s General Policy Speech, Governor Tamaki stated, “We can’t allow a situation to arise where the risk of Okinawa becoming an attack target is heightened by the SDF’s (Self Defense Force) sudden reinforcement of its base functions.”


In response to the governor’s assertion, on 22 February, the Yaeyama Daily News published a one page article titled “Yaeyama mayors” unease exacerbated by the governor’s criticism of the SDF, and they claim, ‘He just doesn’t get it!’”


First, Ishigaki City Mayor Yoshitaka Nakayama told the paper, “The Ryukyu Island defense system has been completed with SDF deployments linked between Amami Oshima and Yonaguni.” He continued, “I can’t understand the Prefecture’s expression of concern over the fact that the deployments are progressing since other areas will get them too.” 


The mayor further noted that the seas surrounding the Senkaku Islands are within the boundaries of Ishigaki City. It seems as if every day heavily armed Chinese Coastal Defense vessels enter the area to chase around fishing boats.


In order to heighten deterrence, next month a  unit of the Ground SDF will begin use of its new base whose construction is in process in Ishigaki Island. Yonaguni marks the westernmost point of Japan, with Taiwan situated only 111 kilometers away. So, the Defense Ministry plans to deploy a surface to air missile unit there to reinforce its Defence capabilities in the Ryukyu Island Region.


According to the Yaeyama Daily News, Yonaguni District Mayor Kenichi Itokazu plans to cooperate with the deployment. But Governor Tamaki's stance is resistance. District Mayor Itokazu, perplexed over the confrontation between the Prefecture and the Government, sighs, “It really screws things up,” adding, “Talks with the governor himself go nowhere.”


Last August, then Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, despite China’s outcry. So, China carried out large scale military exercises and fired 5 ballistic missiles that ended up coming into Japan’s EEZ near Taketomi and Hateruma Islands.


Taketomi Island’s Mayor Masato Maedomari stated, “What does the Prefecture think of the actual situation in the outer islands? It’s stuck in a question mark for me!”, adding, “We think Yaeyama should be strongly defended, and so our 3 governments work together like a tag-team.”


How do people see the gap in warmth between Governor Tamaki and the Yaeyama Region?


Yaeyama Daily News Editorial Chief Makoto Nakashinjo notes, “The Taiwan Emergency goes directly to a Japan Emergency, with the Yaeyama Region on the firing line. The people in the outer islands feel the Chinese threat right against their skin. They understand the SDF deployment as a deterrent reinforcement. On the other hand, Governor Tamaki’s proclamations are removed from the current reality. So, the discord between the governor and the people of the outer islands can only deepen. I wish that the governor would quickly get to work on ensuring the security of the citizens by preparing for evacuations, arranging for shelters, and such, for that supposed emergency.” 


Original Japanese article: Evening Fuji, published Monday 27 February 2023 at 17:00

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/fbb171fe6c01de06aa35aa8c35f36487858de5bc


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.

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