In the Ishigaki City Mayoral Election in Okinawa Prefecture, previous Mayor Yoshitaka Nakayama, endorsed by LDP-Komeito, grabs a fifth term, leaving mayors related to All Okinawa at zero.

 

Splendor of Okinawa: Crepe Ginger, Gushikawa RC Church, 17au25


Because its mayor was unseated, Okinawa Prefecture’s Ishigaki City counted its mayoral election ballots on 17 August.

　

The previous mayor, Yoshitaka Nakayama (58), an independent but endorsed by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito, crushed  former City Assembly Member  Yoshiyuki Toita (55), a novice and independent, but actually backed by the forces of All Okinawa, the party behind Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki. This will be Mayor Nakayama’s fifth term.


The forces of All Okinawa, having had a string of mayoral election defeats, continues its situation of holding zero of the prefecture’s eleven mayoral seats.


In June, then Mayor Nakayama’s city administration had fabricated the date on a proposal. On receiving a vote of no confidence from the City Assembly for it, he was automatically unseated as mayor. So, he just ran for re-election, thus creating the same one on one matchup as in his 2022 previous election with Candidate Toita.


In the election campaign, the discussions spun wide over the reputation of the previous Nakayama Administration and the handling of defense policies.


Candidate Nakayama took his stand on agreement with the content of the Southwest (Ryukyu Islands) Shift in defense capabilities, promoted by the National Administration, and the reinforcement of facilities at Ishigaki Airport. Moreover, promising regional development through the creation of Taiwan shipping routes and such, he permeated both conservatives and independents.


Although not flaunting the All Okinawa green party color, Candidate Toita aggressively endeavored to pull in the votes of those critical of the previous Nakayama Administration. However, support was simply lacking.


In the July House of Councilors Election for the Okinawa District, the LDP-Komeito candidate was defeated by the candidate supported by the All Okinawa forces. So, looking forward to the gubernatorial election in next year’s autumn, thoughts are on the desire to launch a counterattack. 



Original Japanese article: Yomiuri Shimbun, published Monday 18 August 2025 at 10:26.

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/85f650cd011412386976a252e4e33eb3761111fa


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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