Okinawa’s governor requested to halt the introduction of soil from outside the prefecture for Henoko construction. (28my24)

Splendor of Okinawa: Tulbaghia Violacea, roadside Futenma, 17my24


The relocation of the US Military Futenma Airfield in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, requires a landfill at its destination at Henoko in Nago.


Citizen groups, scholars, and others, who oppose the introduction of soil from outside the prefecture for it, have formed a coordinating committee. On 27 May, their committee submitted a document to Governor Denny Tamaki requesting that the construction be halted by not permitting the introduction of such soil. The document claimed that the governor should stop the construction, because it would damage the environment in the surrounding sea with its wide variety of marine life.


In 2015, the Prefecture enacted a law restricting the importation of soil from outside the prefecture in order to prevent the introduction of harmful species of plants and animals.


The Defense ministry is considering the use of soil from Amami Oshima in Kagoshima Prefecture. They are looking into the possibility of cleansing the soil before bringing it into Okinawa.


The opposition document requested that the Prefecture respond strictly, based on the law, because, “It’s ineffective to cleanse soil mixed with clay, and a huge amount of soil can’t be heat-treated.”


(Trans. Note: The transportation of many Okinawan animals and plants, even the purple sweet potato—beni imo— into the rest of Japan is strictly prohibited for valid environmental reasons. Yet, the Defense Ministry considers introducing foreign soil, with its random alien elements, into Okinawa’s unique island  ecosystem. One must wonder what accounts for such a flagrant disregard for Okinawa’s environment.)


Original Japanese article: Kyodo Communications, published Monday 27 May 2024 at 11:55.

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/69357d26b28aa94b1c9fbca4dac999edb1a9bb63


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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