Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki answers “public question” from the family of a Henoko accident victim with, “It’s just as the bereaved family stated.”

Splendor of Okinawa: Slender Dwarf Morning Glory, roadside Uruma, 25ap26

On 8 May, Governor Denny Tamaki spoke on the capsize of 2 boats in offing at Henoko in Nago in his prefecture. 


The father of one of the victims, Doshisha International High School (Kyoto Prefecture) second year student Tomoka Takeishi (17), issued a post on the Internet platform Note, and Governor Tamaki confirmed that he had seen it. The governor noted, “It’s actually just as the bereaved family stated.”


On 31 May, Tomoka’s father issued a post on Note to Governor Tamaki, asking, “If Okinawa Prefecture offers the theme of peace education aimed at high school students on the issue of the relocation of the base to Henoko, does the governor endorse the course content and how it’s presented?”


However, on 2 June, Governor Tamaki stated, “Even though I have yet to see the post, there is such talk, and I’ve heard such questions.”


After arriving for work at the Prefectural Office on the morning of 8 June, Governor Tamaki responded on record to press queries.


The governor noted that, because of handling communications with the Disaster Prevention and Crisis Management Division in response to  approach of Typhoon 6 to Okinawa Island up to 1 June, “Some information, other than that in response to the weekend typhoon  and damage countermeasures, may not have reached me.” He further explained to the Sankei reporter, “I later read the post and confirmed its content.” 


As for his 2 June statement, the governor emphasized, “I wasn’t making a statement meaning whether I was considering not looking at the post in Note or would look at it later. I’d like to have that idea corrected!”


When queried by reporters again at what he thought on reading the post, the governor offered his point of view, noting, “As for Okinawa’s peace education, shouldn’t it be a program in accord with the basic tenets of education, in which, from various viewpoints, students see, hear, think, and all talk things over on their own?


On 25 May, Governor Tamaki had criticized the Ministry of Education and Science which decided to rule that the content of the high school’s study program had violated basis educational law, as “sticking its nose too far into the accident”.


On the other hand, in his post on Note, the father of Tomoka suggested, to be precise, that the exchange program carried out between the high school and students of Okinawa Prefectural Futenma High School be scaled down or scrapped. He pointed out, “It’s acknowledged that changes in the content  produced nothing different for the students than a viewpoint in opposition to the bases.”



Original Japanese article: Sankei Shimbun, published Monday 8 June 2026 at sa:13. Byline: Naoki Ohtake

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/c6deb9b034c7ac7696177f5b697fd872f18f1a11


Denny in the News: Denny Tamaki is the governor of Okinawa Production of the 8th World Uchina-nchu Rally set for 27-31 October 2027. (6jn26)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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