(2 October 1950 – 8 August 2018) was a Japanese politician and the seventh

Governor of Okinawa Prefecture The is the head of the local government in Okinawa Prefecture. The governor's official residence is in Okinawa Prefecture Government Building located in Naha, the capital city of the prefecture. List of Governors of Okinawa Prefecture (187 ...

from 2014 to 2018. Onaga served as a member of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly from 1992 to 1996 and four terms as mayor of

Naha is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area i ...

, the capital and largest city of

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

, from 2000 to 2014 before being elected governor as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

. Onaga's governorship was characterized by his opposition to the U.S. military presence in Okinawa. Onaga died in office aged 67 from illness in August 2018 and was succeeded by Okinawa 3rd district representative

Denny Tamaki is a Japanese politician and the current Governor of Okinawa Prefecture since August 2018. Tamaki was a member of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly for Okinawa City from 2002 to 2005 and became the first Amerasian member of the Japanese Hou ...

Early life

Takeshi Onaga was born on 2 October 1950 in

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, at the time under American military administration after Japan's defeat in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. His father, Josei Onaga, was a politician who was once the mayor of Naha, and his mother, Kazuko, was a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

. According to his biographer Koji Matsubara, Onaga was interested in politics since his childhood. When he was 12 years old, Onaga told his classmates that he wanted to run for mayor. Onaga pursued higher education at

Hosei University is a private university based in Tokyo, Japan. The university originated in a school of law, Tōkyō Hōgakusha (, i.e. Tokyo association of law), established in 1880, and the following year renamed Tōkyō Hōgakkō (, i.e. Tokyo school of law ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, but because Okinawa was still under American occupation unlike the rest of Japan, he required a

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

to go to Tokyo.

Political career

Upon graduating from Hosei University, Onaga returned to Okinawa shortly before the United States returned the islands to Japan in 1972. After briefly working for a construction company, Onaga ran and was elected to the Naha City Council in 1985 for the Liberal Democratic Party. Onaga went on to become a member of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly in 1992.

Mayoralty

Onaga became the Mayor of Naha in 2000, running as an

candidate. During his term as mayor, Onaga supported a plan to relocate the

Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is a United States Marine Corps base located in Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan, northeast of Naha, on the island of Okinawa. It is home to approximately 3,000 Marines of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and other units, and has been a U.S. military ai ...

, located in an

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

near Naha, to a more remote area of the island in

Nago ''Nagu'', Kunigami: ''Naguu'' is a city located in the northern part of Okinawa Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. As of December 2012, the city has an estimated population of 61,659 and a population density of 288 persons per km2. Its tota ...

. According to his biographer, Onaga gave this support reluctantly. Onaga thought the base was against the will of the Okinawan people but he did not feel as mayor he has the power to oppose the Japanese central government, who supported the move. Onaga served four terms as mayor until he was elected as the

in 2014.

Governorship

Onaga was elected to the governorship defeating the incumbent,

Hirokazu Nakaima is a Japanese bureaucrat, business leader, and politician. He was elected governor of Okinawa Prefecture in 2006. Biography Nakaima was born on August 19, 1939 in Higashinari Ward of Osaka. He is of Ryukyuan descent. Nakaima is descended from ...

. His campaign was based on opposing the relocation of the Futenma Base within Okinawa, and ending U.S. military presence in Okinawa. In October 2015, Onaga revoked the

land reclamation Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...

permit needed for continued work on the base. This stance also made him a target of regular smear campaign by some Japanese right-wing activists on the internet. For example, in April 2015,

Toshio Tamogami General is a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force career military officer. He served as the Chief of Staff of Japan's Air Self-Defense Force from March 2007 until October 2008. Tamogami turned to politics in 2014 as a candidate for governor of Tokyo a ...

, former chief of the

Japanese Air Self-Defense Force The , , also informally referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the air and space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and electronic warfa ...

tweeted that Onaga's daughter had studied in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and married a

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

(CCP) official, an allegation intended to link Onaga and his opposition to the American bases in Okinawa to the CCP.

Death

Onaga was diagnosed with a

pancreatic tumor Pancreatic tumors (Pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignan ...

in April 2018, then had a surgery and returned to work in May. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Onaga looked "visibly weakened" during a war-memorial service in June. Onaga died at a hospital in

Urasoe is a city located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The neighboring municipalities are Naha to the south, Ginowan to the north, and Nishihara to the east. As of November 2012, the city has an estimated population of 113,718 and a population den ...

on 8 August 2018, four days after announcing his "last resort" of withdrawing planning permission for the construction of the U.S. military . His deputy, Kiichiro Jahana, took over the governorship , and announced that Around 70,000 people rallied in Okinawa on 11 August 2018 in honour of Onaga's memory and his struggle against the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko Bay in northern Okinawa Island.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onaga, Takeshi 1950 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Japanese politicians 21st-century Japanese politicians People from Naha Governors of Okinawa Prefecture Members of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly Hosei University alumni Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in Japan Mayors of places in Okinawa Prefecture Japanese politicians of Ryukyuan descent