Defense Minister Kihara expresses his thoughts on the exchange of opinions during his visit to Okinawa in his first meeting with Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki. (25ja24)

Splendor of Okinawa: Rhododendron, roadside Futenma, 19ja24


Defense Minister Kihara took office in September of 2023. However, this was his first meeting with Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki. He is visiting Okinawa  in order to get to work on reducing the burden of its bases and expressed his thoughts on the exchange of opinions. 


Defense Minister Minoru Kihara noted, “Engaging in the work of reduction of the base burden is one of our Administration’s most important themes. My thinking is that I decidedly want to create opportunities for directly listening to the voices of everyone and confirm the actual scene during my trip to Okinawa Island.”


Although he was informed by  Governor Tamaki of his opposition to the relocation of the American Military Futenma Base to Henoko, Minister Kihara requested that he make an opportunity for a dialogue during the Minister’s Okinawa trip. Yet, in spite of the Government’s abrogation of Okinawa Prefecture’s rights in the approval to proceed with the relocation work at Henoko, the Minister stated, “We haven’t made any concrete reference to it.”


The Minister explained that this meeting’s purpose was about making requests to the Government to bear  expenses, such as for measures against PFAS  (per- and polyfluorinated substances), discovered in rivers and streams in the vicinity of American bases. The Minister claimed that despite repeated requests,  there were no concrete answers on bearing such expenses.


Original Japanese article: TV Asahi, published Wednesday 24 January 2024 at 21:27.   https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/803a44f3bd60088abb123714e325b104c83b073c


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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