Taro Ono News Today

NAHA--Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki called on Defense Minister Minoru Kihara to retract plans to build a Self-Defense Force training site in his prefecture as the central government moves to bolster defenses in the nation’s southwestern islands.

Japan appears to be an exceptional case where the U.S. military has done almost nothing about cancer-causing organic fluorine compounds detected near U.S. military bases.

NAHA—Various questions have emerged following a simulation exercise on Jan. 30 examining the evacuation of about 120,000 Okinawa residents in the event of a military conflict in nearby Taiwan.

For the first time, the central government employed a legal mechanism to act in place of a prefectural government and push ahead land reclamation work in Okinawa Prefecture for the contentious relocation of a U.S. military base.

Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki said on Dec. 25 that he will not approve the central government’s design change application for land reclamation work to relocate a U.S. military base within the prefecture.

Relief and anger were expressed around Japan after the U.S. military on Dec. 6 decided to suspend all flights of its Osprey aircraft around the world.

Two of five bodies found near the crash site of a U.S. military Osprey aircraft were retrieved off Yakushima island in Kagoshima Prefecture, the U.S. Air Force said on Dec. 4.

NAHA--Thousands rallied here on a national holiday to protest the government’s decision to bolster Japan’s military presence in the country’s southwestern region in response to threats from China and North Korea.

NAHA--Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki defended in court on Oct. 30 his continued obstinance in opposing the central governments push to relocate a U.S. military base in the prefecture as expressing the will of the people.  

NAHA--Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki vowed to continue fighting the central government in court over a proposed design change to a contentious land reclamation project for a U.S. military base in his prefecture, but his prospects don’t look very good.