On winning her election, All Okinawa’s Sachika Takara states, “Everyone’s thought was that they want the voice of Okinawa to reach Tokyo.”

Splendor of Okinawa: Hibiscus, Gushikawa RC Church, 23jy24


Okinawa Election District One with its single allotted  seat is considered a bellwether for the 2026 gubernatorial election in 2026. So there was great joy in Naha City among supporters of Governor Denny Tamaki’s All Okinawa alliance when the independent candidate whom they endorsed, Sachika Takara (46), won the seat. She stated, “My victory is linked to everyone’s thought that they want the voice of Okinawa to reach the National Administration!”


Rather than with campaign emblems opposing the relocation of the US Military Futenma Airfield to Henoko in Nago, Candidate Takara broadened support among independents with her strategy of stressing strong criticism of the National Administration.


Original Japanese article: Yomiuri Shimbun, published Monday 21 July 2025 at 00:15

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/7729785bee6d36a95edcb498cf77975c61ad1196


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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