Denny in the News

Splendor of Okinawa: Pink wood sorrel, roadside Uruma, 6de22 (TOKYO) On 6 December, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada held a press conference after his Cabinet meeting. He explained the defense buildup in the southwest region, which is on everyone’s mind, with the reinforcement of the 15th Brigade of the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) stationed at its base located in Naha. He expressed his acknowledgement thus, “We’re showing our country’s determination that, through our capabilities, we will not permit any so-called change in the current situation.” We’re raising our deterrence capacity against an attack on that section of our islands and our capability of dealing with it.   The minister also expressed a sense of wariness in the light of China’s military emergence and its threat to Taiwan. As to the 15th GSDF Brigade, it will be reinforced from its current one infantry regiment to two. A proposal is being considered to raise the rank of its commander from Lieutenant General ...

Splendor of Okinawa: Mexican creeper, roadside Uruma, 26no22 Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki responded to queries from the press at the Prefectural Office on 5 December. The Japanese Government is planning to reinforce elements of the 15th Ground Self-Defense Brigade (GSDF) stationed in Naha. In response to the news, the governor quipped, “If true, our US military burden ought to be reduced.” He then pointed out, “If, on top of the excessive burden of the US Military, they’re increasing the capabilities of the SDF, that’s just adding to our already excessive burden!” He emphasized, “If, under the guise of so-called defensive capability, they build up their structure, naturally, the comparative weight of our burden of the US Military ought to be lessened by the same factor.” The Defense Ministry, which is in charge of the 15th Brigade build-up, is reinforcing the brigade’s important infantry element from the present one regiment to two. It has been learned that the reinforcemen...

Splendor of Okinawa: Shefflera, roadside Uruma, 5de22 The Ground Self~Defense Force (GSDF) 15th Brigade Command Headquarters, located in Naha, is considering broadening its scope. On the morning of 5 December, Governor Denny Tamaki noted that, right while Okinawa has the excessive burden of US Military bases, the SDF is thinking of reinforcing their own. If so, he claims, “The excessive weight of our burden will become even heavier!” He expressed his concerns that the burden of the bases in Okinawa will increase. On the topic of the concrete  contents of the brigade reinforcement, the governor stopped at saying only, “Information gathering by our office is ongoing, and I’d like to get further reports.” Then the governor added, “If the SDF is building up its structure for so-called defense capability, the burden of the weight of US Forces ought to be comparatively decreased by the same amount.” He once again pled for a reduction in the burden of bases in Okinawa. The National Govern...

Splendor of Okinawa: Great Bougainvillea, roadside Uruma, 4no22 (TOKYO) Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, Cabinet minister in charge of lessening the burden of Okinawa’s bases, will visit the prefecture for 2 days, from 3-4 December. He will hold discussions with Naha Mayor Satoru Chinen and Ginowan Mayor Masanori Matsugawa, each in their respective city halls. According to the Cabinet Office, Secretary Matsuno will first meet Mayor Chinen, newly elected in the October Naha mayoral election. They are expected to discuss aircraft take-offs and landings at the US Military Naha Port and Bay Facility (Naha Military Port), its relocation to Urasoe, and such.  Curiously, when Secretary Matsuno visited the prefecture in November of last year, he held discussions with Governor Denny Tamaki, but this time there is no meeting scheduled with  Governor Tamaki. The National Government and the Prefecture held a meeting on cooperation in the relocation of Naha Military Port to Urasoe...

  Splendor of Okinawa: Chinese violets, roadside Uruma, 29no22 Governor Denny Tamaki held talks on 2 December with Taipei’s Mayor Ko Wen-je during his visit to the prefecture. The governor alluded to the history of exchanges between Okinawa and Taiwan. He expressed his desire for an acceleration of exchanges, “I would like us to do our best to overcome whatever future hurdles in order to make exchanges possible. Mayor Ko responded that a great many tourists from Taiwan are visiting Okinawa and urged, “We’d like a great many visitors to come to Taiwan as well.”  The governor referred to reopening flights between Naha, on hold due to Covid-19. He added his welcome, “We would be delighted to have a great many people from Taiwan come to visit Okinawa. We want to welcome you with our contagion countermeasures set in place. 　 After the meeting, Mayor Ko responded to questions from the press. As to the concerns Governor Tamaki has expressed over  Taiwan’s troubles, he noted, “I’...

Splendor of Okinawa: Ceiba speciosa, roadside Uruma, 26no22 (Taipei Central News Agency) In his visit to Okinawa, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je held discussions with Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki at the Prefectural Office on 2 December. The Prefecture is engaged in PR work for its  “Yuyu Card”, a transit type IC card, which came into use on 7 November for use within the prefecture. In an appeal for its use, Mayor Ko tried out the card for himself in a restaurant by paying the bill with his Yuyu Card.  Okinawa is the first prefecture to have Yuyu Cards which can be used overseas. Around 2,000 shops in the prefecture can use the card for settlement of payments. Payments are made at the day’s exchange rate without handling charges. That should be a great incentive for tourists visiting Okinawa from Taiwan to use the cards. According to prefectural totals, among visitors to Okinawa from abroad in 2019, those from Taiwan accounted for around 34%, putting it in first place as a ...

Splendor of Okinawa: Chinese honeysuckle, roadside Uruma, 27no22. The US Military Futenma Airfield in Ginowan is expected to be relocated to Henoko in Nago. However, the Prefecture refused permission for design changes in the construction. To counter that, Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism Minister Tetsuo Saito ordered the Prefecture’s refusal nullified and corrected to acceptance.  The Prefecture declared both of these judgments by Saito illegal and on 1 December submitted its first oral arguments in the case at the Fukuoka High Court Naha Branch before judge Yutaka Taniguchi. At the end of arguments that day, 16 March 2023 was set as the judgment date.  Governor Denny Tamaki offered his comment on the case. He pointed out that it would take 9 years of construction to rectify the problem of the weak sea bed and, “This takes no account whatsoever of what they claim is the basic importance of getting rid of the dangers of Futenma as soon as possible.” He insisted, “I...

Splendor of Okinawa: Lysimachia, roadside Uruma, 29no22 On 30 November, Okinawa Prefecture announced new indexes for judging the alert level to counter the omicron strain of Covid-19. The hospital bed use rate basically has 4 levels. In order to avoid a bed use rate of 80% at level 4, where the health care facilities are insufficient, requests for cooperation will be issued to prefectural residents, businesses, and others at level 3, when 50% is surpassed, the point of increased burden on the healthcare system. Until now, there have been no activity restrictions as in an Emergency Situation Declaration. Because of that, the Prefecture may issue a “Declaration to strengthen measures to avoid stress on the health care system” or a “Health care extraordinary situation declaration”, to address necessities due to the level 3 stage. So, the Prefecture may request self-restraint in leaving home, time limits on events, and such. The new judgment indexes will not affect just the hospital bed us...

Splendor of Okinawa: Tithonia, roadside Uruma, 27no22 The Air Self-Defense Force (SDF) aerobatic flight team Blue Angels are scheduled for an exhibition flight at Miyakojima City on 11 December. However, the scheduled Shimojishima Airport will not be used. Instead, as was learned through reporting from informed sources on 29 November, the Prefecture and the SDF are pushing arrangements for the use of Miyakojima Airport. A source connected to Miyakojima Airport  stated, “As long as there is no disruption to civilian flights, there’s no choice but to accept the use as reported.” The use of Miyakojima Airport is being considered as the axis for the event. Citizens groups and others have raised their voices in the concern that this will only lead to even further use of civilian airports by the SDF. Moreover, they claim that a great many airlines fly into Miyakojima Airport, and its narrow parking facilities are problematic.　 It seems those dealing with the pros and cons of the route ad...

Splendor of Okinawa: Dragon fruit, roadside Uruma, 20no22. Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS), which are harmful to humans, have been found at high levels in the vicinity of US Military bases. Okinawa Prefecture plans to address this problem by carrying out a prefecture-wide inspection of water quality and soil in 2023, it was learned on 28 November. But, this inspection is to confirm pollution, not just in the vicinity of bases, but across the prefecture. A prefecture-wide inspection of water quality was carried out in 2016. However, In 2020, the Japanese Government, for the first time, established measuring methods with the temporary target value of a total of 50 nano grams of PFOS and PFOA per liter of water. The Prefecture is considering strengthening its ongoing work in order first to establish measurement methods and standards on soil,  considering soil as the basis of results for the Nation. It has been reported that Governor Denny Tamaki met for discussions, on the ...

Splendor of Okinawa: Wishbone flower, roadside Uruma, 22no22　 On 26 November, Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki and important actors in his power base All Okinawa held a meeting in Naha. They reviewed the 23 October Naha Mayoral Election, in which their supported candidate, former Prefectural Assembly Member Takeharu Onaga, was beaten. This was called Okinawa’s year of elections, because of its string of elections across the prefecture. All Okinawa candidates won consecutively in the elections for the House of Councilors and Governor. However, it lost 7 mayoral races in a row. So, it was pointed out that a new strategy and format were essential to beat candidates from the Liberal Democratic (LDP) and Komeito parties in elections for the heads of district governments. The meeting was closed to the public. 　 Governor Tamaki alluded to the creation of a new scheme for victory. He emphasized, “I really want us to do our best to link our reflections to the opinions of all in regions and poli...

Splendor of Okinawa: Cuban Holly, roadside Uruma, 26no22 At his regular press conference on 25 November, Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki announced the result of the vote for the “Shuri Castle license plate design,” after a popular vote was held among the prefecture’s people.  The total of ballots cast was 12,625. The highest number of votes (4888) went to a design submitted by Seina Ito (34) of Naha, depicting Shuri Castle along with shisa (lion-dog statues) and bougainvillea, Naha’s city flower. After her design was selected, she stated ecstatically, “I’m full of feelings of delight, when I think that these license plates will play a role, however slight, in the rebuilding of Shuri Castle!”  Issuance of the Shuri Number Plates is scheduled to begin in October of 2023. The Prefecture is putting together resources for the Shuri reconstruction. As part of that, the Prefecture announced it would put a Shuri Castle design on “region designated plates”, which show individu...

Splendor of Okinawa: Holmskioldia, roadside Uruma, 22no22 Mageshima, an island in the city of Nishi-no-omote in Kagoshima Prefecture is planned as the construction site for a  Self-Defense Force (SDF) base and the relocation of US Military aircraft training. In October, several remains of what seem to be stone implements from around 30-33 thousand years ago were discovered there. Our reporting became aware of this on 25 November through the City Board of Education.  The discovery was made within an area being cleared for the base construction. A runway is planned for construction nearby. On 11 October, the City Board of Education carried out a cultural remains survey across the island with the permission of the Defense Ministry. The stone artifacts, several of them exposed, were discovered in the island’s center. The age of the artifacts was estimated from their geological condition and such. Another survey was conducted from 21-22 November. The City Board of Education feels t...