Okinawa elects first governor in 12 years to back contentious US base relocation

Genta Koja (front C) celebrates with his supporters after reports projected his victory in the Okinawa gubernatorial election in Naha, Okinawa prefecture on September 13, 2026. — AFP pic

First Published: Monday, 14 Sep 2026 1:27 PM MYT

TOKYO, Sept 14 — A candidate backed by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling party won a gubernatorial election in Okinawa, bringing to power a leader who approves of a contentious US military base relocation plan for the first time in 12 years.

In a landslide victory following yesterday’s vote, Genta Koja beat incumbent Denny Tamaki, who has long pushed for a major US military base to be moved out of Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost prefecture.

Koja, 42, accepts a central government plan to keep the US Marine Corps’ Futenma air base on Okinawa’s main island, but move it to a less populated location.

His campaign focused on economic messages, pledging to double Okinawa’s average income, the local government budget for childcare, and spending by tourists on the island, which has long been less prosperous than the rest of the country.

Denny Tamaki (2nd L) speaks to media after reports projected his defeat in the Okinawa gubernatorial election, in Naha, Okinawa prefecture on September 13, 2026. — AFP pic

He pledged today to “make progress on livelihood issues, the economy and childcare assistance” by listening to views of all Okinawan residents.

Takaichi told reporters in Tokyo that she would “do my utmost to coordinate efforts with the new governor to strengthen the Okinawan economy”.

“As for other subjects, I will address those after hearing from the new governor,” she said.

The US military presence will remain a major issue for Koja, a former civil servant who was also a deputy mayor of Naha, the region’s capital city.

The US has around 54,000 military personnel stationed in Japan, mostly on Okinawa, but a string of incidents over the years, including sexual assault cases, have angered residents.

Other base-related woes, from pollution to noise and helicopter crashes, have led to further complaints.

Japan and the US agreed to move the base from the town of Ginowan to another location within Okinawa in 1996 after a rape of a 12-year-old schoolgirl by US military servicemen that triggered strong anti-US military protests across the prefecture.

The relocation plan was approved in 2013 by Okinawa’s then governor Hirokazu Nakaima, but the next year he lost to an opponent who opposed the move.

Tamaki, 66, was seeking his third term yesterday.

Koja won 423,124 votes, while Tamaki received 276,060, according to the prefectural government. — AFP