Okinawa Development Funds from State to Rise to 264.7 B. Yen

Tokyo, Dec. 18 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday approved a government plan to increase state funds provided for the development of Okinawa Prefecture by 500 million yen from the previous year to 264.7 billion yen in fiscal 2026. The Okinawa development promotion funds will mark the first rise in 10 years, but they will still fall short of at least 300 billion yen, as requested by the Okinawa prefectural government, for five consecutive years. The plan, approved at a meeting of the LDP’s Research Commission for the Promotion and Development of Okinawa, includes 73.6 billion yen in grants the prefecture can use at its discretion, up 1.5 billion yen. Of the grants, 39 billion yen is intended for infrastructure projects and 34.7 billion yen for intangible projects, up 1 billion yen and 500 million yen, respectively. Under the plan, funds directly provided to Okinawa municipalities will stand unchanged at 9.5 billion yen. The 264.7-billion-yen total came against the 282.9 billion yen sought as the Okinawa development promotion funds in a budget request for fiscal 2026. Yuko Obuchi, who heads the LDP commission, said, “I will work hard to create a strong economy” in Okinawa. The Okinawa development promotion funds had been on a declining trend amid a disagreement between the state and the prefectural government over the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station in Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area of Nago, both in the southernmost prefecture. The funds ranged roughly between 260 billion and 270 billion yen after falling below 300 billion yen in fiscal 2022. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]