Okinawa governor announces he had surgery in April to remove cancerous tumor

Japan Times -- May 16

Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga said Tuesday that he underwent surgery in April to have a cancerous pancreatic tumor removed.

Onaga disclosed his health ailment during a news conference at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha after leaving a hospital in Urasoe earlier in the day. He underwent the operation at the hospital on April 21.

He has yet to announce whether he will run in the Okinawa gubernatorial election slated for this autumn.

At the news conference, Onaga declined to comment on his decision, while saying, “I want to return to work as soon as possible to fulfill my responsibilities as the governor of Okinawa.”

Onaga said that he will receive treatment to prevent a relapse and metastasis. Revealing that his pancreatic cancer was at stage 2, Onaga said that he will have his condition monitored for the time being while taking medication.

The cancer was found to have transferred to a lymph node, and the metastatic cancer was removed during the surgery, according to Onaga.

A pancreatic tumor about 3 centimeters in diameter was found in the governor’s pancreas during a re-examination that followed a comprehensive medical checkup in April. After the successful operation, Onaga recovered at the hospital.

May 16 (ANNnewsCH) - 沖縄県の翁長知事が膵臓(すいぞう)がんであることを公表しました。 先月、膵臓の腫瘍(しゅよう)摘出手術を受けて入院していた沖縄県の翁長知事が15日に退院し、膵臓がんと診断されたことを明らかにしました。今後は再発や転移を抑える治療を受けるということです。