Denny Tamaki is in charge of a chain of islands in what many people consider a dangerous neighborhood. As governor of the Okinawa Prefecture, he oversees about 160 inhabited and uninhabited islands in southwest Japan. The U.S. military refers to it as the “Keystone of the Pacific” due to its strategic location situated regionally between Tokyo, Manila, Seoul and Hong Kong. It currently finds itself in the crosshairs of China’s disputed claims over Taiwan and escalating tensions in the South China Sea.