Denny in the News

Splendor of Okinawa: Lark Daisy, roadside Uruma, 8mr24. On 27 February, Major General Brian Wolford, Commander of US Marine Pacific Bases, whose command covers the US Military Futenma Airfield in Okinawa Prefecture’s Ginowan City, offered his viewpoint at a meeting  to exchange opinions with news organizations in general at the US Military Camp Zukeran, straddling Chatan and other communities in Okinawa Prefecture. On whether the use of a civilian facility with a long runway in an emergency  would become a condition for the reversion of Futenma Airfield, the commander expressed his views, noting, “According to the US -Japan Agreement, the Japanese Government would make that choice prior to any reversion. He added, “So far, no such decision has been made”, up to the present.  On 20 February, at a press conference after a Cabinet Meeting, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi noted, in response to an emergency, “We are already preparing the necessary legal framework for that an...

Splendor of Okinawa: Eranthemum Pulchellum, roadside Uruma, 26ja24 At the Prefectural Assembly session on 26 February, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) members asked for Governor Denny Tamaki’s response over Deputy Governor Ikeda’s submission of his resignation request on 8 February, after news of the problem of repeated procedural errors tied to the Washington Office, which the Prefecture had set up in Washington DC in the US. Prefectural Assembly Member Dai Ikebukuro asked the governor, “Deputy Governor Ikeda abruptly resigned. We really can’t understand why…We’d like to hear from our governor the reason for changing his deputy governor.” Governor Denny Tamaki replied, “I can only say prudently that it was a heavy decision, in which the person himself took into account our overall situation.” Deputy Governor Ikeda had been connected to the Washington Office since its inception. The Prefecture’s Washington Office was set up as a paper corporation and a serving Prefectural staff member w...

Splendor of Okinawa: Great Bougainvillea, roadside  Uruma, 16fe25. The 2026 Okinawa Prefecture Gubernatorial Election is scheduled for this fall. We have learned that, with that in mind, Governor Denny Tamaki is making arrangements in the direction of formally declaring his candidacy as early as March. In January, the forces of All Okinawa, which touts the prevention of the relocation of Futenma Airfield to Henoko, requested Governor Tamaki to run for a third term According to informed sources, arrangements are in the process of being made toward Governor Tamaki’s formal declaration of his candidacy, as early as the end of March, at the scheduled Prefectural Administration Report Meeting, However, in the House of Representatives election, every candidate supported by Governor Tamaki went down in total defeat. So, the Prefectural Branch of the Social Democratic Party, in its response to that election, criticized the forces of All Okinawa and others, claiming that its lack of coordin...

Splendor of Okinawa: Kalanchoe, roadside Uruma, 26ja24 Regarding the relocation of the US Military Futenma Airfield from Ginowan to Henoko in Nago, both in Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki expressed his viewpoint on 24 February, advising, “The National Government should confirm the details of the US-Japan Agreement and request the US side to abide by them.” The US Defense Department judged from documents it had compiled that Futenma Airfield clearly could not be reverted to Japan, unless the Japanese Government chose a runway longer than that proposed for construction at Henoko.  During on record  responses to press squad queries on 24 February, Governor Tamaki was asked whether the Naha Airport’s runway, which is longer than that proposed for the relocation site, could be used by any chance? The governor strongly retorted, “There’s no way I’d allow it.” However, when the US and Japanese Governments announced their plan in 2013, they agreed that a c...

  Splendor of Okinawa: Ramgoat Dashalong, 13 fe24 On 23 February, Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki spoke on the Taiwan crisis at an event held in Naha, with China at the top of his mind, asking, “Is Japan getting into a fight with another country? As a country, are we really going to go so far?” The governor also brought up the fact that Japan’s low degree of self-sufficiency in food is the reason for its huge level of trade with China.  The governor took the stage to give his address at the Nii-niyon Music Festival held that day. The event is held each February in memory of the referendum of 24 February  2024, in which the people of the prefecture questioned the necessity of the relocation of Ginowan’s US Military Futenma Airfield to Henoko in Nago. Original Japanese article: Nikkei Shimbun, published Monday 23 February 2026 at 21:26. https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOJC231Y00T20C26A2000000/ Denny in the News: Denny Tamaki is the governor of Okinawa Prefectur...

Splendor of Okinawa: Philippine Ground Orchid, roadside Uruma, 13fe24. In all four of Okinawa’s districts in the House of Representatives Election, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) gave a total shellacking to every single candidate supported by the Communist Party, the Centrist Reform Alliance, and others that backed Governor Denny Tamaki’s forces of All Okinawa in opposition to the planned relocation of Ginowan’s US Military Futenma Airfield to Henoko in Nago, both within the prefecture. An LDP monopoly over all of Okinawa’s election districts  for the House of Representatives is the first since 1996 in the Single-seat constituency proportional representation system. The 3 candidates for Districts 2,3,and 4, backed by the Centrist Reform Alliance, touted their opposition to the relocation. However, since the party headquarters did not absolutely confirm its opposition to the relocation, in District 2, the Socialist Party, revolting against the Centrist Reform Alliance, stood its...

Splendor of Okinawa: Pink Trumpet Tree, roadside Uruma, 16fe25 On 13 February, Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki announced the results of the 2024 Prefectural People’s Health and Nutrition Survey. The percentage of those over 20 who surpassed the standard (BMI over 125) was 41.1% for males and 27.5% for females, while the national average was 31.5% for males and 21.1% for females. Over half of those in their 40s and  50s were obese.  Because obesity is the cause of a variety of lifestyle illnesses, Governor Tamaki urged, “Aim your meals to fill your stomachs to 80%. Maybe walk another 10 minutes or such. But don’t overdo your exercises.” The daily intake of salt was 9.3 grams for men and 7.8 grams for women. Although that is a bit lower than the national average, the intake did not achieve the Prefecture’s goal of no more than 7 grams. With the intake of vegetables at 247.8 grams for men and 243.1 for women,  the standard of 350 grams targeted was not reached. Orig...

Splendor of Okinawa: Pink Wood Sorrel, roadside Uruma. 16fe25. The US Defense Department has expressed its consideration of keeping the US Military Futenma Airfield, which is scheduled for relocation,  in use until the Japanese Government provides a replacement site with a suitably “long runway”. In response, Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki retorted, “They ought to get on with ridding us of Futenma’s perils without a day’s delay!” (Trans note: This article is desperately in need of background. The U.S. Military Futenma Airfield has been used by the US Marines since the end of World War II. Its location is elevated and its runway long enough for modern military aircraft. So the Marines love it. Unfortunately, the base is smack in the middle of a city, where its noise, pollution, and frequent accidents are acknowledged as dangerous. Thus, at the beginning of this century an agreement was reached between the US and Japanese governments to return the base’s land to Japan and ...

Splendor of Okinawa: Stick Pea, roadside Uruma,14fe25. Regarding the reversion of the US Military Futenma Airfield at Ginowan in Okinawa Prefecture, on 19 February, Governor Denny Tamaki opposed the expressed thinking of the US Defense Department  of keeping the airfield until the Japanese Government provides a replacement base with a suitably long runway. During representative questioning in the Prefectural Assembly, the governor retorted, “They ought to have their minds on ridding us of the dangers of that base as quickly as possible." He further requested that the relocation of the Futenma Airfield to Henoko in Nago be scrapped. The viewpoint of the US State Department came in response to the US General Accounting Office (GAO)’s noting of insufficiencies in the runway proposed at the relocation destination. It pointed out explicitly that there would be no runway of sufficient length at Henoko. So, “The Futenma facilities cannot be reverted to Japan”, until a replacement runway ...

Splendor of Okinawa: Hibiscus, roadside Uruma, 14fe25. On 18 February during representatives’ questioning at the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly, Governor Denny Tamaki was queried by Assemblyman Harutoshi Shinzato (of the unaffiliated group of the Okinawa Liberal Democratic Party) about whether  the relocation of the US Military Futenma Airfield to Henoko in Nago would be an issue in the coming gubernatorial election. The governor showed his recognition that it would be, noting, “It will probably be a major rallying point.” In a lawsuit over the use of proxy to execute the Henoko relocation, the Supreme Court confirmed a ruling that recognized the National Government’s assertion of the right to use it.  Referring to that ruling, Assemblyman Shinzato asked, “What sort of response will your administration offer hereafter? How will you fully accept that highest judgment on the law? In addition the assemblyman pressed on asking whether the governor would tout a public promise that he...

Splendor of Okinawa: Star Jasmine, roadside Uruma 14fe25 The US Military Futenma Airfield is supposed to revert to Japan and be replaced by a base to be newly constructed at Henoko in Nago. However now, the US Defense Department has clearly stated its thinking, in a formal public document, that, until a replacement with a suitable runway (trans note: the US Marines have often noted that Henoko’s runway length is insufficient) is selected, the Futenma Base will not be returned. Alluding to that story on 16 February, Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki rejected it with the criticism, “It’s US side gossip! We absolutely can’t accept it.” The basis for the Futenma Airfield story is the publication of an opinion piece in which a current lieutenant colonel in the US Marines stated his thinking that, even after the new replacement base at Henoko is completed, Futenma Airfield should be kept for US-Japan joint-use. The claim of continued use has been ongoing from the US side. Governor Tam...