Okinawa election win may give Tokyo freer hand on military build-up

A candidate backed by Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi’s government won Okinawa’s gubernatorial election on Sunday, ousting an opponent of Tokyo’s military build-up across the strategically important island chain near Taiwan and China.

Genta Koja, 42, defeated two-term incumbent Denny Tamaki, 66, with 59% of the vote in a result announced early on Monday. His victory, after a campaign dominated by concerns over rising prices, ends 12 years of rule by governors frequently at odds with the central government.

Tamaki’s defeat could weaken local efforts to halt the relocation of some US Marines from the busy Futenma air base to a more remote facility at Henoko, on Okinawa’s main island. Opponents want the troops moved out of the prefecture instead.

Japan’s government said on Monday it would press ahead with the relocation.

Koja’s victory may also make it easier to expand military access to airports and ports, according to Masaaki Gabe, a professor emeritus at the University of the Ryukyus.

“Koja could reasonably be expected to approve their designation, opening wholly civilian facilities to military use,” said Gabe.

The Okinawa election result comes as Takaichi prepares to unveil a new national security strategy this year that is expected to accelerate Japan’s biggest military build-up since World War Two. Her administration says increased defence spending is necessary to deter China from using military force to advance its territorial ambitions in East Asia.

Okinawa forms part of what military planners call the First Island Chain, a string of territory stretching from Japan through the Philippines that constrains China’s access to the Western Pacific.

Yonaguni, Japan’s westernmost inhabited island, lies just 110km (68 miles) east of Taiwan. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and has stepped up military activity around the democratically governed island.

Tensions between Tokyo and Beijing have risen since Takaichi said last year that a Chinese attack on Taiwan that also threatened Japan could trigger a military response by Tokyo.

Japan has deployed missile and electronic-warfare units on several of its southwestern islands and is expanding ammunition storage across the territory.