Denny Tamaki (born 13 October 1959) is a Japanese politician who served as Governor of Okinawa Prefecture from 2018 to 2026. He previously sat in the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly and in the House of Representatives, where he became the first Amerasian member. Tamaki is known for his long-standing opposition to the United States military presence on Okinawa, and he lost his bid for re-election as governor in 2026.
Early life
Tamaki was born in Yonashiro, Okinawa, under American civil administration, to an Okinawan mother and an American father who was a Marine and left the island before Tamaki was born. Tamaki never met his father and rarely discusses his American background, though he has described himself as embodying Okinawa's situation as a host for United States military personnel. He changed his legal name at age ten, keeping Denny as a childhood nickname. After studying at a trade school in Tokyo, he returned to Okinawa and worked for several years as a radio disc jockey.
Political career
Tamaki first served on Okinawa City Council and later won a House of Representatives seat for Okinawa's 3rd district in 2009, after losing in 2005. He lost the seat in 2012 but regained it in 2014. In 2018, following the death of Governor Takeshi Onaga, Tamaki won the gubernatorial election as an independent, defeating a candidate supported by the Liberal Democratic Party. He was re-elected in 2022 but was defeated in 2026.
Positions
Tamaki has long opposed the U.S. military presence on Okinawa and argued for reducing troop numbers and relocating bases. This was the central issue of his 2018 campaign, which opposed the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma within the prefecture. In 2020, after a COVID-19 outbreak at American bases in Okinawa, he criticized the military and expressed doubt about its ability to contain the virus.