Beginning from the 2025 school year, Okinawa Prefecture will subsidize communities by paying half of funds used to make middle school lunches free of charge. (25my24)

Splendor of Okinawa: Mogra, roadside Futenma, 17my24


The Prefecture will subsidize communities by paying half of funds used for free school lunches for middle school students, in a move toward making all school lunches free of charge.


Governor Denny Tamaki stated. “This is one step in working toward making all school lunches free of charge. The burden of school lunch costs is high. So, our Prefecture has acted to subsidize them by working together with our communities to make school lunches free for families with children during their 3 years of middle school.”


At a meeting held on 24 May, Governor Tamaki announced that from next year, the Prefecture would assist by paying half of funds used by communities that provide free school lunches to their middle school students.


For the moment, only middle school students will receive the free lunches. The reason  is the result of a school lunch survey which found that the educational financial   burden on households with middle school students was great due to such expenditures as preparation for high school entrance and club activities.


However, the subsidies  presume that communities will bear half the burden of actually providing free meals, and that raises the fear of regional disparity in the subsidies.


Governor Denny Tamaki explained, “To whatever extent possible, we’ll do our best to include all schools. We also think we can express the stance that we will do our utmost to cooperate with all schools!”


According to the Prefecture, as of now, the number of communities subsidizing    either all or some school lunches has risen to 35. However, 6 communities have no system for subsidized meals.


Original Japanese article: RBC (Ryukyu Broadcasting Corporation), published Friday 24 May 2024 at 19:16.  https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/f0b7ade7368d1b5dcfe9ae0ab70c9863c2855fe3


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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