EXCLUSIVE: 1st Increase in 10 Years Eyed for Okinawa Development Funds

Tokyo, Dec. 17 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party plan to allocate 264.7 billion yen for the development of Okinawa Prefecture in the fiscal 2026 budget, an increase of 500 million yen from the previous year, informed sources told Jiji Press on Wednesday. It would be the first increase in Okinawa development funds in a decade. Such funds have been on a declining trend in recent years as the central government has been at odds with Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki over the issue of U.S. military bases in the southern prefecture. The planned increase comes as the LDP aims to win the next Okinawa gubernatorial election, expected next summer. The plan is expected to be presented at a meeting of the LDP’s Research Commission for the Promotion and Development of Okinawa on Thursday. The Okinawa prefectural government has requested more than 300 billion yen for its development in the fiscal 2026 budget. In 2013, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised to annually allocate more than 300 billion yen until fiscal 2021, as then Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima accepted the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station in Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area of Nago. However, Tamaki’s predecessor, who opposed the U.S. base relocation, won the 2014 gubernatorial election. Since fiscal 2022, annual funds for Okinawa’s development have been between 260 billion and 270 billion yen. Tamaki is currently in his second term, which expires on Sept. 29 next year. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]