ERBIL () — A candidate backed by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling party has won Okinawa’s gubernatorial election, strengthening Tokyo’s position on a controversial plan to relocate a US Marine Corps air base within the southern Japanese prefecture.
Genta Koja, 42, defeated incumbent governor Denny Tamaki in a landslide victory in Sunday’s election, securing 423,124 votes compared with Tamaki’s 276,060, according to the Okinawa prefectural government.
Koja supports the Japanese government’s plan to relocate the US Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station from the densely populated city of Ginowan to a less populated area elsewhere in Okinawa. His victory makes him the first Okinawa governor in 12 years to support the relocation plan.
The result could give Tokyo renewed momentum in its long-running effort to implement the relocation agreement with Washington, although the US military presence remains a highly contentious issue among Okinawan residents.
Koja, a former civil servant and deputy mayor of Naha, Okinawa’s capital, made economic and social issues the focus of his campaign. He pledged to double Okinawa’s average income, increase the local government’s childcare budget and double tourist spending on the island, which has long been less prosperous than other parts of Japan.
Following his victory, Koja pledged Monday to advance “livelihood issues, the economy and childcare assistance” while listening to the views of all Okinawan residents.
Takaichi welcomed the election result, saying her government would work with the new governor to strengthen Okinawa’s economy.
“I will do my utmost to coordinate efforts with the new governor to strengthen the Okinawan economy,” Takaichi told reporters in Tokyo, adding that she would address other issues after hearing from Koja.
The US military presence, however, is expected to remain a major issue for Koja’s administration. The United States has about 54,000 military personnel stationed in Japan, with a large proportion based in Okinawa.
Residents have repeatedly protested the concentration of US military facilities on the island, citing noise, pollution, helicopter crashes and crimes involving US service members.
A series of incidents, including sexual assault cases, has fueled longstanding opposition to the US military presence.
The Futenma relocation dispute dates back to 1996, when Japan and the United States agreed to move the base from Ginowan following the rape of a 12-year-old schoolgirl by US servicemen.
The incident triggered major anti-US military protests across Okinawa.
The relocation plan was approved in 2013 by then-Okinawa governor Hirokazu Nakaima. However, Nakaima lost the following year’s gubernatorial election to an opponent of the plan.
Tamaki, 66, who had strongly opposed relocating Futenma to another site within Okinawa, was seeking a third term in Sunday’s election.
Koja’s victory represents a significant political shift on one of Okinawa’s most divisive issues and could strengthen the central government’s efforts to proceed with the controversial base relocation while putting the new governor under pressure to balance Tokyo’s security priorities with longstanding local opposition.
