The Prefecture acknowledges, as lawyers have pointed out, that settlement funds have been paid out on 162 occasions for the damage of vehicles, construction equipment, and such to the tune of 36.97 million yen, without the consent of the Prefectural Assembly. (21no23)

Splendor of Okinawa: Hybrid Hardy Hibiscus in Uruma drain grate, 17oc23


On 20 November, the Prefecture paid out settlement money as insurance in cases where private cars or construction equipment were damaged by failures in prefectural managed roads and water pipes.


However, the Prefecture announced that it did not have the consent of the Prefectural Assembly, as required by the Regional Government Law in such situations.


In 161 instances since 1996, the Prefectural Civil Engineering and Construction Bureau, which manages roads, paid out 33,633,724 yen in settlement money without the approval of the Prefectural Assembly. The Corporate Affairs Bureau, in charge of water pipe management, paid out a total of 36,976,608 yen in 162 cases, with one of them amounting to 3,342,884 yen.


At the Prefecture, improper paperwork procedures continue. In response, the top 3 Prefectural officers, including Governor Tamaki are expected to have their salaries cut from  January to March 2024. The same top 3 received pay cuts from July to September in 2022 to accept responsibility for administrative errors.


When the Prefectural Assembly is scheduled to begin  its regular November session on 28 November, a motion on the consent and a proposal for the monthly salary changes will be submitted.


According to the Prefecture, with insurance and the consent of the other party, when damage occurred from a failure in the roadways under the management of the Prefectural Civil Engineering and Construction Bureau or water pipes under the Prefectural Affairs Bureau, the bureaus had ended up paying the settlement money, without seeing the need for the consent or even awareness of the Prefectural Assembly.


However, it was pointed out by the lawyers in this year’s audit that the consent of the Prefectural Assembly was required by the Regional Government Law.


In October of this year, National Treasury subsidies, which might have been issued originally, were not received due to an administrative miss. That brought on a concern that there might be a deficit caused in general finances.


In response to such misses so far, Governor Tamaki will take a monthly pay cut of 15% from his monthly salary of 550, 500 yen.


His two vice-governors will each take a 10% cut from their monthly salaries of 291,000yen.

 

Original Japanese article: Ryukyu Shimpo, published Monday 20 November 2023 at 14:15.  https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/a4e9fb2f238a4e951e011214869e33ecfa757336


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 my 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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