James Matayoshi (born 1968) is the mayor of

Rongelap Atoll Rongelap Atoll ( ; , ) is an uninhabited coral atoll of 61 islands (or motus) in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is . It encloses a lagoon with an area of . ...

in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

. He was appointed as Rongelap's mayor in 1995Mayor wants to develop economy for Rongelap
, July 7, 2005, Kyodo News Agency and has served as chairman of the Marshall Islands Ports Authority since 2008. As the mayor of Rongelap, Matayoshi was noted for his activism on calling for the United States government to render assistance to Marshall Islanders suffering from radiation sickness as a result of a series of nuclear tests carried out under

Operation Castle Operation Castle was a United States series of high-yield (high-energy) nuclear tests by Joint Task Force 7 (JTF-7) at Bikini Atoll beginning in March 1954. It followed ''Operation Upshot–Knothole'' and preceded '' Operation Teapot''. Con ...

in the 1950s.

Early life and education

Matayoshi was born in Kwajalein. His father, Woodrow Matayoshi, was a second-generation

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ...

from Hawaii, whose parents were immigrants from

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

. Matayoshi's mother, Almira Ainri, was a Marshallese from Rongelap and was an activist on issues pertaining to

nuclear warfare Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...

until her death in June 2005. In her youth, Ainri was exposed to radioactive fallouts from the nuclear bomb tests, which left her with

thyroid The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, it is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck below the Adam's apple. It consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by ...

problems for the rest of her life. Two of Matayoshi's older siblings, Robert and Alex also suffered from thyroid problems as a result of the nuclear bomb tests. Ainri also suffered a miscarriage in 1955 which resulted in a stillborn child without a skeleton. In his youth, Matayoshi was educated in Hawaii, but returned to the Marshall Islands and was elected as Rongelap's mayor in 1995.

Political career

Since his appointment as the Mayor of Rongelap, Matayoshi campaigned vigorously for anti-nuclear causes and often attended memorial events pertaining to nuclear warfare in Japan as well as the Marshall Islands. Between 2005 and 2007, Matayoshi led lobbies against the Nuclear Claims Tribunal to provide monetary compensation to victims of nuclear bomb tests, which were targeted to be used for reconstruction efforts and facilitating resettlement in Rongelap. Japan also provided resettlement funds to Rongelap to 2005, which was motivated in part to Matayoshi's ancestral and diplomatic ties that he established with Japan. In February 2023, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' reported that Matayoshi is under investigation by the Marshall Islands' attorney general.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matayoshi, James 1969 births American anti–nuclear power activists Living people Marshallese people of Okinawan descent Mayors of places in the Marshall Islands Marshallese politicians of Japanese descent People from the Ralik Chain