Chōbyō Yara

was a Japanese politician. He served as the Chief Executive of the Government of the Ryukyu Islands (1968–1972) and Governor of Okinawa Prefecture (1972–1976). He graduated from Hiroshima Higher Normal School (now Hiroshima University).

Biography Yara was a schoolteacher by profession and was serving as president for the Okinawa Teachers' Association at the time of his election to the executive leadership of the American-occupied Ryukyuan government.

Following his victory in the 1968 Ryukyuan legislative election, in which he campaigned for "immediate, unconditional reversion" of Okinawa, he met Prime Minister Eisaku Satō in December 1968 to discuss the immediate reversion of Okinawa to Japan, which Yara supported. Yara was critical of these bases in great part due to the economic and environmental stress they put on Okinawans. Nonetheless, Yara had relatively moderate inclinations and cooperated with the Japanese government's requests to use his influence in order to convince radical Okinawan activists to call off a proposed general strike, in return for mainland governmental concessions.