Abe’s govt poised to accelerate US base relocation in Okinawa

February 5, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government is poised to accelerate the prolonged efforts to relocate a US air base within Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on the back of the victory of a ruling bloc-backed candidate in Sunday's election to choose the mayor of the host city for the new base.

The central government interprets the election result as an indication of local support for the plan to move the US Marine Corps' Futenma air station from a congested area of Ginowan, Okinawa, to reclaimed land to be constructed in the Henoko coastal area of Nago.

"By obtaining the understanding of citizens, we'd like to proceed (with the relocation plan) in line with the Supreme Court ruling," Abe told reporters on Monday morning, after rookie Taketoyo Toguchi defeated incumbent Susumu Inamine, who is opposed to the relocation plan, in the mayoral race in Nago, Okinawa.

In the Supreme Court ruling, which was handed down in December 2016, Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga's decision to cancel the approval for the landfill work in Henoko given by his predecessor, Hirokazu Nakaima, was found illegal. Onaga is also opposed to the relocation plan, demanding the base be moved outside Okinawa.

In Sunday's election, Toguchi, a 56-year-old former member of the Nago city assembly, garnered 20,389 votes, against 16,931 votes for the 72-year-old incumbent.

"As I thought defeating the incumbent would be difficult, I'm glad to see the victory" of the fresh candidate, Abe said.

The prime minister said the central government will responsibly support the mayor-elect's campaign pledges.

"By staying present to the feelings of the people of Okinawa, we'll fully support the prefecture's development," Abe said.

During his election campaign, Toguchi, backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, both in support of the relocation plan, focused on the regional economy's development.

Japan and the United States have agreed to complete the Futenma base's relocation in fiscal 2022 or later.

Abe's government plans to proceed with seawall construction that began in April last year along the coastline of the Henoko district for building a Futenma replacement facility and possibly start the landfill work in summer.

As for the Okinawa gubernatorial election scheduled in autumn, the LDP and Komeito will speed up the work to field a candidate to fight against Onaga.

Kazuo Shii, leader of the Japanese Communist Party, which supported Inamine in Sunday's election, stressed, in a statement released on Monday, that the candidate backed by the LDP and Komeito said nothing about the issue of the new base in Henoko during his election campaign.

"The outcome of the election does not mean that the citizens accepted the new base," Shii said. Jiji Press