Candidate pledging to resist new US military base wins Okinawa election, defeating ruling party’s preferred choice
Okinawa hosts about half of the 54,000 American troops stationed in Japan and makes for 64 per cent of the land space used by the US bases, under a bilateral security treaty
Denny Tamaki, who campaigned criticising the American military presence on the southwestern Japanese islands of Okinawa, won the election for governor on Sunday, defeating a ruling party-backed candidate pushing the status quo.
The race was to choose a successor to Takeshi Onaga, who died in August of pancreatic cancer. He wanted the bases off Okinawa.
Tamaki, a legislator who had pledged to continue with Onaga’s “spirit,” thanked his supporters as his campaign office broke into a cheer and later began dancing Okinawa-style, after several major Japanese media polls, including Kyodo news service, declared him the winner.
“The strong feelings of Takeshi Onaga, risking his life to stop the construction of any more bases, helped bring this victory,” Tamaki told reporters.
He defeated Atsushi Sakima, a mayor who had argued that Okinawa should work with the national government to sort out the problem. The final vote count was not yet available. But media reports said Tamaki led in almost all areas of Okinawa, making his win certain with the vote partially counted.
Tamaki’s victory throws into further question Japan’s plans for a new airbase still under construction in coastal Okinawa.