Denny in the News

Splendor of Okinawa: Easter Lily, Rycom Mall, 29ap25 As a measure to prevent the recurrence of continuous sexual assault crimes by US Military related personnel, the US Military Japan Headquarters at Yokota Base in Tokyo, on 29 April, reported that it will establish its Forum on 9 May, as a site for the exchange of US Military  and local opinions. 　 According to the announcement, the Prefecture, Prefectural Police, Okinawa Prefectural Branch of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, US Consulate General, Okinawa Defense Bureau, and representatives from the US Military in Okinawa will participate. 　 This month, talks were held on a variety of topics, including the joint US Japan patrol that was actually carried out, with the aim of improving relations with local communities. The establishment of the Forum was announced by the US Military Japan Headquarters as a recurrence prevention measure in response to an incident last July. With a string of such crimes revealed during the nearly a year s...

Splendor of Okinawa: French Rose, roadside Futenma, 28ap25 With the opening of ballots in the Uruma City Mayoral Election on 27 April, the male candidate connected to All Okinawa, the party supporting Governor Denny Tamaki, took a drubbing. Considering that loss and the decline in support for All Okinawa, Governor Tamaki replied to queries from reporters, early the next morning on 28 April.  The governor noted, “It’s been over 10 years since the All Okinawa coalition was formed. I wonder if there’ve been changes in the social situation. However, those who created All Okinawa are still committed to it.” In the Uruma City Election, current Mayor Masato Nakamura (60), an independent backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, achieved reelection,  garnering 25,699 votes. His opponent, former Prefectural Assemblyman Taiga Teruya (53), an independent novice, supported by the Constitutional Democratic Party, Socialist Party, Communist Party, and Okinawa Social Masses  P...

Splendor of Okinawa: Madagascar Periwinkle roadside Futenma, 9mr25 The Prefecture held it carp banner hosting ceremony (Trans.note: Carp are considered, with their perseverance in swimming upstream, are considered a good omen for children) in front of the main gate of the Prefectural Office with 40 invited nursery school children in attendance. Every year around this time of the  “Children’s Welfare Week” from 5-11 May, carp banners are raised. Tsubogawa Nursery School and Shuri Izumi Nursury School pupils lined up to sing the Carp Banner nursery rhyme. 　 As five carp banners, large and small, were raised up on poles. During the raising, the children performed eisa (Ryukyuan: dynamic dances with drums). Governor Denny Tamaki introduced the ceremony with, “Our aim is to create a society where children can rapidly grow, and we want our Prefecture to grow along with them.” Original Japanese article: Ryukyu Shimpo, published Saturday 26 April 2025 at 18:41. https://news.yahoo.co.jp/a...

Splendor of Okinawa: Hyacinth Orchid, roadside Futenma, 9mr25. At his press conference on 25 April, Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki announced his awarding of the “Prefectural Sports Glory Award” to the Ryukyu Golden Kings for their first  victory in  the All Japan 100th Emperor’s Cup Basketball Championship. The award, on recommendation by a committee, recognizes those who have offered remarkable achievements nationally and internationally. The award was established last year with the purpose of raising awareness among the prefecture’s residents of the creation of the governor’s cherished “Sports Island Okinawa” The Kings are the first to receive the award.  While in the pro-basketball B-League, during the 2022-23 season, the Kings were in first place and took their first championship. So, this season, the team decided to take to the floor for the Western Region finals and championship.    The governor announced the reason for his public announcement, s...

Splendor of Okinawa: Egyptian Starcluster, roadside Futenma, 9ap25 With the crime of sexual assault of a woman in Okinawa Prefecture added to charges, documents on 2 US Marines have been sent to prosecutors. The Prefecture has issued requests on the matter to the US Military. Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki stated, “This sort of thing ought never happen again. From the US Military, we are requesting strict enforcement of discipline and thorough education of its troops.” According to the police and others, papers are also being sent to prosecutors on a 20 year old man, attached to the US Marines, who committed the sexual assault of an adult woman within a US base in March and injured  another woman, who attempted to assist her.  　 Moreover, a different male US Marine, in January of this year on Okinawa Island, committed a sexual assault on an adult female acquaintance, but, although papers were sent, the Naha District Court  dismissed the case on 24 April. The pol...

Splendor of Okinawa: Silver Trumpet Tree, roadside Futenma, 9mr25 Sexual assaults on adult women by US troops in Okinawa are continuing with 2 incidents revealed already this year. Okinawa Prefectural Police have filed charges with prosecutors on 2 US Marines suspected of non-consensual sex with a 20 year old woman. On news of the incident on 23 April, Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki issued his comment, “It is disgraceful that even one crime or accident should occur by those connected to the US Military. The very occurrence of this sort of problem is absolutely deplorable!” Since December of 2023, in the Prefecture there have been 7 incidents of sexual assault crimes forwarded to prosecutors, but only 3 of them have been prosecuted . Although Governor Tamaki has requested an appropriate response from both the Japanese and US Governments, the US Military side has emphasized the necessity of a revision of its training curriculum, thorough education of troops, and a tightening of...

Splendor of Okinawa: Philippine Ground Orchid, Gushikawa RC Church, 9ap25 On 22 April at the Prime Minister’s Residence, Chief Cabinet Secretary Toshimasa Hayashi held a meeting with Mayor Atsushi Sakima of Ginowan City  in Okinawa Prefecture, where the US Military Futenma Airfield is located. 　 They expressed the idea of the positive consideration of establishing a new Ginowan City-Japanese Government Council with the purpose of reducing the city’s burden of the base. On the betterment of the daily living environment for local residents, they declared, “In order to stand with a united response, we’d like to proceed with arrangements to bring such a council into existence.” There is already a “Committee for Advancing the Burden Reduction of Futenma Airfield” involving 3 entities (the National Government, the Prefecture, and Ginowan City) to serve as a framework for a conference on base issues. However Secretary Hayashi requested a council of 2, just the City and the Government with...

Splendor of Okinawa: Oriental False Hawksbeard, roadside Uruma, 9ap25 Okinawa Prefecture’s Ie Island, with its multitude of civilian casualties in the ebb and flow of the expanding fierce battle, is seen as a “microcosm of the Okinawa Campaign” in World War II. On 21 April, the “Prayer for Peace Ritual” was held to mark  80 years since the end of that battle. About 250 people, including bereaved relatives, gathered in front of the Pillar of Blessed Spirits, commemorating the approximately 3,500 island dead honored there. At the signal of a ferry boat whistle, silence reigned, while all prayed for peace. At the ritual site, Governor Denny Tamaki noted, “Their peaceful lives were stolen by the fierce bombings, shelling from ships, and gruesome land combat. The result was a multitude of civilian casualties. It’s our obligation to pass on correctly to generations to come, without allowing the ebb and flow of memory to fade, the history of that war 80 years ago.”   In April 1945, U...

Splendor of Okinawa: Rose, roadside Uruma, 9ap25 The departure ceremony for US-Japan joint patrols, with Prefectural Police, US Military, local community groups, and others in attendance, was held at Music Town Sound Plaza in Okinawa City at 10 p.m. on 18 April. The patrol was expected to make the rounds until about 2 a.m. on 19 April. MPs from the US Military participated, along with Prefectural Police, local residents, and others, about 110 in total, in the march along Gate Street and others near Kadena Air Base Gate 2. With the recurring sexual assault crimes by US troops last year in mind, the US Military decided to carry out joint patrols in Okinawa City and other communities. However, if a crime site should be encountered during the patrols, no system is in place between the US and Japan to detain or arrest suspects. So, some City Assembly Members have requested a halt to such patrols. Okinawa City Mayor Daisuke Hanashiro claimed that negotiation between the Prefectural Police an...

Splendor of Okinawa: Guava Tree, Uruma City Hall, 18ap25 Last year in Okinawa Prefecture, a series of sexual assault crimes by US troops occurred. In response, in the Prefecture’s Okinawa City on 18 April, US Military, Prefectural Police, and local citizen groups are conducting joint patrols. This was the first US Military and Prefectural Police joint patrol since 1974. Its aim was to raise awareness of local crime prevention. In order to call attention to the observance of the Liberty System, which governs US troops exiting bases and off-base eating and liquor consumption, the patrols were carried out in the downtown areas of Okinawa City and other such areas adjacent to the US Military Kadena Air Base. In addition to the US Military and Prefectural Police, personnel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Okinawa Defense Bureau, local municipal groups, and others also joined the patrols.  At the starting ceremony, Governor Denny Tamaki gave the introductory address, noting, “We...

Splendor of Okinawa: Fountainbush, roadside Futenma, 24mr25 Within Okinawa Prefecture last year a continuing series of sexual assault crimes occurred. In response, from 18 April, troops of the US Military are joining the Prefectural Police in carrying out patrols of Okinawa City’s downtown bar district.  This is the first such joint action since 1974, 2 years after Okinawa’s reversion to Japanese control in 1972. According to related government sources, under the US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), the US side has arrest power over US troops and military dependents, while exhibiting disdain for Prefectural Police involvement.  However, this time, residents paraded along with the patrol with no expectation of detentions or such. Governor Denny Tamaki, Okinawa City’s mayor, and others participated with about 120 others.  At Okinawa City’s downtown Koza Plaza, the group held a departure meeting at about 10 p.m. Okinawa City Mayor Daisuke Hanashiro addressed the group...