In an SNS post, House of Representatives Member Miyazaki objects to Governor Tamaki’s use of English and Okinawa- Guchi (Ryukyuan: Okinawan language) in Peace Declaration: “We mourn also those taken as spies because they used Uchina- Guchi.” (27jn23)


Splendor of Okinawa: Phalaenopsis, roadside Uruma, 24my23


On 26 June, Governor Denny Tamaki held a press conference for the general media. He was asked about his intention in using the Ryukyuan Language (Uchina- Guchi) in his Peace Declaration at the Mourning Ceremony for All Okinawa War Dead on 23 June.


The governor replied, “During the Battle of Okinawa, people from the generation who spoke only Uchina- Guchi were taken as spies and  became victims of execution by the Japanese Army. We included those victims in our mourning also.”


Beginning with his taking office, from the mourning ceremony of 2019, for 5 years in succession, Governor Tamaki has spoken parts of his Peace Declaration in Uchina- Guchi and English.


However, Liberal Democratic Party House Representative Masahisa Miyazaki objected to the governor’s use of Okinawa’s language on this occasion in a tweet on 23 June.


Representative Miyagi posted, “Governor Tamaki’s mixing Uchina- Guchi and English into his Peace Declaration didn’t serve to raise the dignity of the event. I would have preferred a speech with a calm solemnity. I think that this sort of ceremony should stick to serenity.”


However, the governor explained that, for the sake of the prefecture’s and the nation’s people, he used Japanese, for the sake of communication to the World, he used English, and Uchina- Guchi as well.


The governor stated, “Uchina- Guchi is part of our identity. I use the language of Naha’s Shuri. But really, I’ve been mixing our language into my speeches right from the time I took office. I feel I’d like to have you understand, it’s somewhat standard for me.”


Original Japanese article: Ryukyu Shimpo, published Tuesday 27 June 2023 at 05:14. Byline: Yugo Okita

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/c178a18df2b96db1752b8b0ff567c89fd4afc9e5


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. 


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. 


Any suggestion on improving the translation will be gratefully accepted. However, please leave political comments for another forum.


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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