The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday approved a government plan to increase state funds provided for the development of Okinawa Prefecture by ¥500 million from the previous year to ¥264.7 billion in the fiscal year from April 2026, marking the first rise in 10 years.
Such funds have been on a declining trend in recent years as the central government has been at odds with Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki over the issue of U.S. military bases in the prefecture.
The planned increase comes as the LDP aims to win the next Okinawa gubernatorial election, expected next summer.
The funds, however, will still fall short of ¥300 billion or more 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 in grants the prefecture can use at its discretion, up ¥1.5 billion.
Yuko Obuchi, who heads the LDP commission, said, “I will work hard to create a strong economy” in Okinawa.
Of the grants, ¥39 billion is intended for infrastructure projects and ¥34.7 billion for intangible projects, up ¥1 billion and ¥500 million, respectively.
Under the plan, funds directly provided to Okinawa municipalities will stand unchanged at ¥9.5 billion.
AloJapan.com