Masako Ganaha

She was born in Nago, Okinawa.^[3] Her father, Takahiro Ganaha, is an operating committee member of the Citizens' and People's Association for Correcting the Ryukyu Shimpo and the Okinawa Times. Her uncle, Takao Ganaha, was the co-representative of the "Okinawa People's Association for Straightening Out the Prefectural Government and Themselves," which was a separate action group of the "Correcting Association." Her grandfather, who claimed to be the originator of soki soba, was Takemitsu Ganaha, a former Nago City assembly member.^[5] Her uncle,^{[note 2]} Chiken Kakazu, was a former House of Representatives member.^[6]

She aspired to become an FBI special agent,^[2] and studied abroad in Ohio and California during her time at Okinawa Prefectural Nago High School in 2005.^[3] However, upon learning that U.S. citizenship was a minimum requirement for FBI special agents, she gave up on her FBI dream, returned to Japan, and dropped out of Nago High School.^[2] She subsequently obtained a high school equivalency diploma and entered the School of Human Sciences at Waseda University.^[2] While at university, she served as an executive committee member for the Japan Student Association Fund, which hosted the Prince Takamado Trophy All Japan Junior High School English Speech Contest.^[3][2] She graduated in March 2012.^[3] After graduation, she was set to join a publishing company, but changed her path due to differences in editorial policy. She returned to her family's home in Nago City to tutor children in English and dance and began her political activities.^[2]

On February 21, 2013, she delivered a speech advocating for the relocation of the Futenma Air Station to Camp Schwab in Henoko, Nago City, at a "Nago City Residents' Rally to Promote the Relocation of the Dangerous Futenma Air Station to Henoko."^[7][2][8] This marked the start of her engagement in public discourse.^[2]

In November 2013, based on her experience from speeches, and with the cooperation of Headline Co., Ltd. [ja], where she had interned during university,^[9] she established Yanbaru Press LLC and launched the local free paper "Yanbaru Press" (やんばるプレス).^[10] The content ranged from political topics, including interviews with Diet members, to local information titled Nago Beauty (名護美人, Nago Bijin). Despite receiving significant feedback and distributing all copies of the first issue, the paper was discontinued due to editorial differences with Headline Co., Ltd.^[11] Additionally, during the 2014 Okinawa gubernatorial election, she served as the public relations officer for the campaign of former Okinawan Governor Hirokazu Nakaima.^[11] In April 2015, she established the Citizens' and People's Association for Correcting the Ryukyu Shimpo and the Okinawa Times, which criticizes local newspapers in Okinawa. She has also contributed articles to Sekai Nippo, affiliated with the Unification Church.^[3][12] At the same time, she served as a caster for the Okinawa branch of Nippon Culture Channel Sakura.^[3]

Starting in December 2016, she, her father Takahiro, and her younger sister Mai began broadcasting two radio programs, "Okinawa Defense Information Bureau" and "Applied Psychology Radio Seminar," by purchasing airtime on a local community FM station.^[13] This subsequently became a subject of civil litigation. On January 2, 2017, she appeared on the "News Girls" (ニュース女子, Nyūsu Joshi) program (DHC TV), which became a matter of investigation by the Broadcast Ethics & Program Improvement Organization (BPO) following protests from opposition groups.

In October 2020, she traveled to the United States to cover the 2020 United States presidential election.^[14] She reported from the U.S. through her YouTube channel and other internet video channels remotely and stayed in the U.S. until March 2021, when she returned to Japan.^[15]

In May 2022, she gave an interview to Unification Church-affiliated newspaper 'Sekai Nippo', discussing the book 'Blackout' by black conservative activist Candace Owens, which she translated. She expressed her views on the black community in America, stating that "the Democratic Party implants a victim mentality, creating a scenario where they must vote for the welfare-oriented party."^[12][16]

She suggested that some individuals involved in the Capitol protest may have been associated with groups like Antifa and contributed to the unrest. While similar assertions were echoed by others, they were met with scrutiny and counterclaims from various fact-checking organizations. The topic has sparked debates and discussions, including in Japan, where related information has circulated widely. However, no official statement or clarification has been issued by her regarding these claims.^{[citation needed]}