Okinawa elects governor who supports relocation of US base
In Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture, 42-year-old Genta Koja won the gubernatorial election on September 13. He supports the government’s plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to another location within Okinawa. He defeated incumbent Governor Denny Tamaki, who advocated removing the large U.S. base from the prefecture, Channel NewsAsia reports.
According to the prefectural government, Koja received 423,124 votes, while Tamaki received 276,060. Tamaki, 66, was running for a third term as governor.
New governor’s position
Koja agrees with the Japanese central government’s plan to keep Futenma Air Station on Okinawa’s main island by moving it to a less densely populated area. For the first time in 12 years, the prefecture has elected a governor who approves of this plan.
His election campaign focused on economic issues. Koja promised to double the average income of Okinawa residents, the local government’s childcare budget and tourist spending on the island. After the election, he said he would seek to advance welfare, economic and childcare support issues while listening to the views of all prefecture residents.
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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, whose ruling party supported Koja, said she would coordinate with the new governor to strengthen Okinawa’s economy.
Dispute over the US base
The issue of the U.S. military presence will remain one of the key matters for the new governor. About 54,000 U.S. service members are stationed in Japan, with most of them in Okinawa. Local residents have expressed dissatisfaction over cases of sexual violence, as well as pollution, noise and helicopter accidents associated with the bases.
Japan and the United States agreed in 1996 to relocate the base from the city of Ginowan to another location in Okinawa after the rape of a 12-year-old schoolgirl by U.S. service members, which sparked strong protests against the U.S. military presence in the prefecture. Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima approved the relocation plan in 2013, but lost the election the following year to an opponent of the decision.
