When a student asks Okinawa’s Governor, “What if Henoko gets done?”, the governor replies oddly, “We’ll request the relocation of the Camp Schwab garrison!” (28ja24)

Splendor of Okinawa: Eranthemum Pulchellum, roadside Futenma 26ja24


On 27 January, Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki took the podium at a class at Okinawa International University as a special lecturer. His class was on an explanation of  the ‘Basic Plan for a New 21st Century Vision for Okinawa’, as well as the issues of the bases and poverty.


A student asked the governor, “If the base at Henoko in Nago should be completed, what would the Okinawa Prefecture Administration do? Governor Tamaki responded, “If the base should somehow or other get built, I think I’d end up requesting that I’d like the Camp Schwab garrison relocated out of our prefecture, or, better yet, out of Japan, as soon as possible.


Up until now, Governor Tamaki has repeatedly claimed, “We won’t let them build any new base at Henoko!” However, now he is focusing on the fact of the weak seabed in Oura Bay, the site of the planned landfill, noting, “I absolutely feel they can’t get it done”, and such. So, from his stance of opposition, he has come around to denying its possibility of completion. But the governor’s statement on what he would do if the new base were completed was strangely odd.. 


About 100 students, mostly from the Regional Administrative Law Department, attended the governor’s lecture. Governor Tamaki introduced the Prefecture’s policies, using a pamphlet combining the ‘Basic Plan for a New 21st Century Vision for Okinawa’ and information about the US Military bases in Okinawa.


To the student who asked, “What would the Prefectural Administration do if the base were to be completed”, the governor responded, “Probably if an administration were placed in that position,  it would  have to accept it under the constraints of law. Lawfully, an administration can’t oppose it.”


In turn, the governor asked, “Won’t voices in opposition to the use of that base still naturally remain among a good many of our prefecture’s people?” He then added his statement that he would request that the garrison be relocated outside the prefecture or outside the country. 


The governor also touched on the buildup of the Self Defense Force in the Southwest Island Chain (the Ryukyus). He explained that ‘sites where there are weapons’ could become targets of attacks from other countries.


The governor further stated, “Okinawa has military facilities crammed smack in the middle of civilian localities. Okinawa is already packed with the US Military. To build up more bases in the name of the Security Alliance is shameful!”


The governor also spoke on how the Government disposed of the Prefecture’s refusal to approve its request for design changes to reinforce the weak seabed in Oura Bay.


The governor pointed out, “The Japanese Government forcibly pushed on us its plan in order to build this base. No attention at all was paid to Okinawa Prefecture’s people, as a people of our nation, whose only request and desire is to live their daily lives honestly, and in peace. We are having the various maladies these US bases produce shoved down our throats.”


The governor then pleaded with the students, “The Japanese Government’s claims have been upheld in their courts. Okinawa Prefecture’s position is gradually being pushed into a corner. I want you, each and every one of you, to consider this as your very own problem.”



Original Japanese article: Ryukyu Shimpo, published Sunday 28 January 2024 at 06:11. Byline: Yo Kakazu.  https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/f1cfbad6e1c80f2c89e41b9e18abeb34e527cbec


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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