LDP monopolizes Okinawa’s 4 election districts, leaving All Okinawa in a seatless defeat for the first time since 1996. (23fe26).

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 own candidate who opposed the relocation, and split the alliance.


The All Okinawa candidate for District 4 just could not unify supporters, and the District 1 candidate lost the only Communist Party House seat left in the Nation.


All Okinawa won all of Okinawa’s allotted House of Representatives seats in the 2014 election. In the 2017 election, it lost one but took 3. In 2021 and 2024, it won 2 seats and lost 2.


All Okinawa better do some rebuilding before this fall’s gubernatorial election, if it is going to halt its ebbing tide.


Original Japanese article:Asahi Shimbun, published 9 February 2026 at 00:21.

https://www.asahi.com/sp/articles/ASV284FQ5V28TPOB002M.html


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.

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