New Okinawa governor ‘to take concerns about military bases’ to Americans on US visit

The newly elected governor of Japan’s Okinawa said on Friday he will take the island’s concerns about US military bases there directly to Americans when he visits the country next week. Denny Tamaki, born to a Japanese mother and an American US Marine father, said he wanted to see Tokyo and Washington spread the burden of hosting US troops more evenly across Japan, AFP reported. “I am not asking for immediate shutdown and withdrawal of US bases,” he told reporters in Tokyo. “The reality that the Okinawan people face is that we don’t know to whom we should voice our frustration,” Tamaki said. He will go to Washington and New York to meet with local politicians and said he was hopeful his mixed background would help persuade Americans to recognize the views of Okinawans.