YARA Tomohiro (b. 1962) is a veteran journalist and a three-term member of the House of Representatives. Raised in Chatan, Okinawa, near U.S. bases, he graduated from the University of the Philippines. Witnessing the 1986 People Power Revolution inspired him to pursue journalism.

At the Okinawa Times, YARA served as City Editor and Editorial Writer, specializing in U.S. military base issues. He was a Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center in Hawaii (2007) before becoming a freelance journalist in 2012.

YARA entered politics in 2019, winning a by-election for Okinawa’s 3rd District to succeed Denny Tamaki. He later served as the inaugural president of the Constitutional Democratic Party’s Okinawa chapter. After losing his seat in 2021, he returned to the Diet via proportional succession in 2023 and was re-elected in 2024.

Most recently, he ran for the 3rd District in the 2026 General Election representing the Centrist Reform Alliance (Chudo Kaikaku Rengo). Although he was not re-elected, YARA remains a prominent figure in Okinawan policy, particularly regarding military base relocation and regional security.