Genta Koja, backed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party, won Sunday's Okinawa gubernatorial election, becoming the southern island prefecture's first leader in 12 years to support a key US military base relocation plan.
Koja, 42, defeated incumbent Denny Tamaki, who opposed the transfer of US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan to the coastal Henoko area in Nago. The win gives Takaichi's government a boost as it pushes ahead with the contentious project.
Unlike previous elections, the base issue took a backseat to the economy, with exit polls showing 49.5 per cent of voters prioritised economic issues compared to 20.9 per cent for base-related matters. Voter turnout was 61.57 per cent, up 3.65 percentage points from 2022.
Koja, a former deputy Naha mayor, pledged to call on the government to reduce the burden of hosting US bases and to seek clarity on when the Futenma site will be returned to Ginowan, expected as early as 2036. He is the first Okinawa governor born after the island's 1972 return to Japan.
Tamaki, 66, defended his opposition to the relocation, saying: "This is the choice made by the people in Okinawa."
LDP Secretary General Shunichi Suzuki said Koja's victory would "solidify the government's political power base."
