Prime Minister Ishiba apologizes to Okinawa governor over statement on Himeyuri by LDP’s Nishida. (24my25)

Splendor of Okinawa: Butterfly Pea, roadside Uruma, 18my25


On 20 May, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Residence with Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki.


With  statements of Liberal Democrat Party (LDP) House of Councilors Member Shoji Nishida on the contents of the explanatory  plaque at the Himeyuri Monument in Ginowan, Okinawa, at the top of his mind, the Prime Minister apologized to the governor, stating, “Those statements were indescribably horrific for every person in Okinawa. As leader of Mr. Nishida’s party, I offer my deepest apologies.”


On receiving the gift of a Kariyushi shirt from Governor Tamaki, the Prime Minister added, “When I was serving as Defense Minister during the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, what was always in my mind in fashioning emergency legislation, was the Okinawan Campaign in which so many Okinawans died. I resolved that such a tragedy must never occur again.”


　After the meeting, Governor Tamaki stated to the press corps, “In Okinawa, the voices of confusion and outrage continue. We would have liked a statement that strongly took more of the historical truth into consideration.” 


At a symposium in Naha City on 3 May, Mt. Nishida spoke of having visited the Himeyuri Monument prior to becoming a member of the House of Councilors. At the symposium, he made such statements as, “I saw how that monument painfully explained that, as the necessary Japanese Army came gradually marching in, the Himeyuri Unit ended up dying. But when the American Army came in, Okinawa was liberated. That’s the context of what was written. That’s a rewriting of history. It’s different from what happened!”


After being criticized for his statements, Mr. Nishida apologized on 9 May, saying, “My statement will be corrected or deleted.” 


Original Japanese article: Mainichi Shimbun, published Tuesday 20 May 2025 at 16:56. Byline; Honokage Uchida

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/210ce0477d6d2e2a83cf225b6b381e7327eec3dd


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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In the suit over exercise of proxy in the case of the weak seabed at the new Henoko base, judgment to be handed down on 20 December. (4de23)

Image
Splendor of Okinawa: Shrubby Bush Clover, roadside Uruma, 30no23 The seabed at the new base construction site at Henoko in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, is weak and needs reinforcement. So, the Okinawa Defense Bureau requested permission for the necessary design changes, but Governor Denny Tamaki refused. In response, the Government intends to exercise proxy to give itself permission in place of the governor. The Naha Branch of the Fukuoka High Court announced on 29 November that it will hand down its judgment in the lawsuit filed over the case at 2 pm on 20 December. At the trial on 30 October, Governor Denny Tamaki emphasized in the first oral arguments, “We can in no way accept this exercise of proxy, which violates the autonomy and independence of Okinawa.”  He further stressed the will of the prefecture’s people in opposition to the new base construction as the ‘Public will’. In addition, he requested to show that the  path to resolution lay in dialogue. The trial was conclud...
Read more

Governor Denny receives the report on JUNGLIA at the 4 month mark after its opening. (7de25)

Image
Splendor of Okinawa: Temple Tree, Mihama Beach, 1de25 CEO Takeshi Kato of Japan Entertainment (JE), which manages JUNGLIA Okinawa, visited Governor Denny Tamaki at the Prefectural Office on 28 November.  　 The CEO reported on the 4 months since the attraction’s opening. He repeatedly brought up dealing with operational improvements and such based on the voices of visitors to the park.  　 The CEO specifically mentioned the evening concerts in the park’s garden and, starting from December, the free entry of one child with each adult, targeting the prefecture’s people. CEO Kato stated, “We’d like to be contributing to Okinawa’s tourism as well.” Governor Tamaki, alluding to his speech the same day, entitled “Declaration on Sustainable Tourism”, stated, “For the people, employees, and tourists of our prefecture, this is an important win-win format. We’d like to have JE’s cooperation in many, many more initiatives.” Original Japanese article: Ryukyu Shimpo, published Sunday 30 Nov...
Read more

In Okinawa, Candidate Takara takes hold of the Henoko opposition parties as their new face, urging,”Let’s earnestly come to grips with these issues together.” (21jy25).

Image
Splendor of Okinawa: Mexican Petunia, Gushikawa RC Church, 13jy25. In the House of Councilors Election for the Okinawa Election District, independent candidate Sachika Takara (46), endorsed by All Okinawa, which opposes the relocation of the US Military Futenma Airfield in Ginowan to Henoko in Nago, both in Okinawa Prefecture, scored a victory. She defeated the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Party’s new candidate Ryo Okuma (38) in the election campaign.  Candidate Takara pledged before her supporters, “The Henoko problem is something our prefecture’s people have taken into our hearts. We’re going to earnestly come to grips with it together.”  With their eyes on a victory in next year’s gubernatorial election, her victory was a bitter blow to the LDP. Governor Denny Tamaki, who held the job of Candidate Takara’s campaign headquarters chief, stressed, “The will of the people in opposition to the relocation remains unshaken.” In recent mayoral elections, All Okinawa’s fortunes ha...
Read more