Candidates Registered for Nago Assembly Election in Okinawa

September 3, 2018

Nago, Okinawa Pref.- Candidacies were filed on Sunday for the city assembly election in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, a week ahead, in which the construction of a U.S. military base in the city is expected to be a key campaign issue.

A total of 32 candidates will compete for 26 seats in the assembly.

The main focus of the election is whether forces opposed to the base construction will maintain their majority in the assembly. The race is closely watched as a prelude to the Okinawa gubernatorial election slated for Sept. 30 following the death in August of Governor Takeshi Onaga, a staunch opponent of the heavy U.S. military presence in the southern island prefecture.

The base plan, based on a Japan-U.S. agreement, calls for transferring the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station in a congested area of Ginowan, also in Okinawa, to the less populated Henoko coastal area of Nago.

The national ruling bloc led by the Liberal Democratic Party, which supports Nago Mayor Taketoyo Toguchi, fielded 17 candidates for the assembly election, including two base opponents from Komeito, the LDP's partner, who aim to keep their seats. Fifteen filed their candidacies from antibase opposition parties.

The number of assembly seats will be reduced by one. The previous assembly consisted of 13 members of the ruling bloc and 14 of the opposition camp.

In the mayoral election in February, Toguchi defeated Susumu Inamine, who sought a third term aiming to block the Futenma relocation plan.

Toguchi has kept unclear his attitude on the relocation plan, but he received support from the ruling camp, which backs the base construction.

Also on Sunday, candidates were registered for assembly elections in four other cities in Okinawa, including Ginowan and Ishigaki. Jiji Press