All Okinawa representatives offer the LDP faction an amended budget proposal, with funds for “lobbying activities” deleted from the Okinawa Prefecture US Office’s expenses. (28fe25)

Splendor of Okinawa: Cattleya Orchid, roadside Uruma, 14mr24


Controversy has arisen over the establishment of Okinawa Prefecture’s US Washington Office as a paper corporation. 


The Prefecture’s 2025 Preliminary General Budget Proposal contained expenses for lobbying activities to relay the Prefecture’s thinking on the base problem to the US side, among the operational expenses budgeted for its Washington Office.


On 27 February, the Prefectural Administration’s ruling All Okinawa faction, which supports Governor Denny, offered a revised proposal deleting such funding  to the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) faction, which encompasses a bevy of opposition groups.


Although the LDP had agreed to a temporary halt in activities, it aims for the abolition of the Office and requests the total deletion of its funding. So, its stance remains unbroken.


At the February Regular Prefectural Assembly Session, the Prefecture submitted a budget proposal with 39 million yen allocated to the Office’s operational expenses. The LDP made a motion to reject and return the budget to the Prefecture. With agreement from Komeito, the motion passed. 


After that, All Okinawa began looking for a compromise. The party submitted a motion to request the Prefecture to lessen the funding amount, and the LDP agreed. Governor Tamaki even relented, noting, “We’ll respond sincerely.”


The Prefectural Administration  held private discussions on 27 February between the ruling and opposition parties. According to sources, the ruling party submitted a revised proposal with the lobbying funds eliminated and personnel expenses reduced to the barest minimum at 26 million yen, 2 thirds of the original proposal.


In response to that offer, the LDP side requested to be shown the basis of the calculations. LDP Headquarters added, “A firm promise on the lobbying activities is a good first step.” However, it expressed its real intention, “We can’t agree until the funding gets close to zero, with the Office closed as a prerequisite.”


Original Japanese article: Yomiuri Shimbun, published Friday 28 February 2025 at 11:28.

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/c8e2632e48f84a16178f5e81772ecdd33e6e870a



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 the 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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