Denny Tamaki

Denny Tamaki (玉城デニー, Tamaki Denī^?, born October 13, 1959) is a Japanese politician. He became the first Amerasian member of the Japanese House of Representatives in 2009, and is currently a member of the People's Life Party led by Ichiro Ozawa.

Tamaki was born in Uruma, Okinawa to an Okinawan waitress and a U.S. Marine father named William, who left Okinawa before Tamaki was born. He was born Dennis Tamaki but his mother changed his name to Yasuhiro Tamaki (玉城 康裕, Tamaki Yasuhiro^?); he later adopted an abbreviated version of his original name. Tamaki never met his father, and his mother remained single throughout his youth and destroyed most materials related to his father; Tamaki attempted to search for his father but was unsuccessful in locating him. He learned minimal English in his youth, but developed a love for American popular culture and was teased and bullied by classmates for his hazel eyes and reddish hair.

He left to attend a trade school in Tokyo but returned to Okinawa afterward, working as a radio disk jockey in Okinawa for several years, and later as an Okinawa city council member from 2002 to 2005. He ran in the 2005 general election for the Okinawa 3rd district but lost to incumbent Chiken Kakazu. He returned in the 2009 general election and defeated Kakazu for the 3rd district seat.

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