1. Takeshi Onaga was a Japanese politician and the seventh Governor of Okinawa Prefecture from 2014 to 2018.
14 Facts About Takeshi Onaga
1. 2.
Takeshi Onaga's governorship was characterized by his opposition to the US military presence in Okinawa.
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Takeshi Onaga died in office aged 67 from illness in August 2018 and was succeeded by Okinawa 3rd district representative Denny Tamaki.
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Takeshi Onaga was born on 2 October 1950 in Naha, Okinawa, at the time under American military administration after Japan's defeat in World War II.
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Takeshi Onaga pursued higher education at Hosei University in Tokyo, but because Okinawa was still under American occupation unlike the rest of Japan, he required a passport to go to Tokyo.
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Takeshi Onaga went on to become a member of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly in 1992.
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Takeshi Onaga became the Mayor of Naha in 2000, running as an independent candidate.
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Takeshi Onaga served four terms as mayor until he was elected as the Governor of Okinawa Prefecture in 2014.
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Takeshi Onaga was elected to the governorship defeating the incumbent, Hirokazu Nakaima.
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Takeshi Onaga's campaign was based on opposing the relocation of the Futenma Base within Okinawa, and ending US military presence in Okinawa.
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In October 2015, Takeshi Onaga revoked the land reclamation permit needed for continued work on the base.
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For example, in April 2015, Toshio Tamogami, former chief of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force tweeted that Takeshi Onaga's daughter had studied in Beijing and married a Chinese Communist Party official, an allegation intended to link Takeshi Onaga and his opposition to the American bases in Okinawa to the CCP.
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Takeshi Onaga was diagnosed with a pancreatic tumor in April 2018, then had a surgery and returned to work in May According to The New York Times, Takeshi Onaga looked "visibly weakened" during a war-memorial service in June.
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Takeshi Onaga died at a hospital in Urasoe on 8 August 2018, four days after announcing his "last resort" of withdrawing planning permission for the construction of the US military.