“The rage of our prefecture’s people is again ablaze!” over sexual assaults by US troops, exclaims Okinawa’s governor. (16se24)

Splendor of Okinawa: Ramgoat Dashalong, Gushikawa RC Church, 24au24.

(NEW YORK, Kyodo) On 12 September, Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki arrived in New York City from the nation’s capital, Washington DC, on his visit to the US.


There, the governor gave a lecture in English before an audience of about 50 students at Columbia University. In it, the governor explained about the the sexual assault crimes by US troops stationed in Okinawa, which have repeatedly come to light, and added that this very same  situation had happened time and again in the past. The governor informed the students, “Our investigations are ongoing, but the rage of our prefecture’s people is again ablaze!”


In the lecture, Governor Tamaki alluded to the US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) which includes provisions that exclude US troops in Japan from  the application of Japanese national laws.


The governor noted, “Countries such as Germany and Italy control the activities of US troops through the application of their own laws.” So, he requested a speedy reform of the SOFA.


In answer to student questions about crimes by US troops, the governor pointed out, “They’re proportional to our extraordinary burden of US Military bases.”


Original Japanese article: Kyodo Communications, published Friday 13 September 2024 at 09:59.

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/79915562556f1bcf41b00ac0ed7fb8075776ffbd



Denny in the News:

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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