Gearing up to full tilt for the decisive political battle, Governor Denny Tamaki readies to announce his run in the gubernatorial election even by the end of next month. (26fe26)

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 coordination was obvious.


The forces of All Okinawa, facing such a summary of the House of Representatives election, even within this week, plan to hold a coordination meeting, attended by representatives  of their politicians and groups.


With the prefectural gubernatorial election looming, a candidate selection committee, made up of conservative elements within the business world at its center, has decided to nominate  as their candidate former Naha Deputy Mayor Genta Koja. 


With the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) as the axis of political parties such as the Japan Reform Party, the Nationalist Peoples Party, Komeito, and Sanseito,  the selection committee, centered in its headquarters, is progressing toward arranging the LDP’s support for former Mayor Koja.


The prefectural gubernatorial election is falling into place as the greatest political showdown in the prefecture. To face it, activity in the political situation in the prefecture is expected to become rather hectic.


Original Japanese article: Okinawa TV Broadcasting, published Tuesday 24 February 2026 at 18:52.

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/f01e87934967080db88e862f8cf1c3c98d6eae9b


Denny in the News: Denny Tamaki is the governor of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. Although 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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