Nago mayor race heats up as battle of ruling bloc, Okinawa gov.

February 1, 2018

Nago, Okinawa Pref.- Campaigning for the upcoming Nago mayoral election is heating up as a proxy war between Japan's ruling coalition and a bloc led by Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga over the planned relocation of a controversial U.S. military base.

The biggest campaign issue for Sunday's election is whether to support or prevent the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station from a congested area of Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to the Henoko coastal area of Nago, another Okinawa city.

The closely watched election is a head-to-head race between incumbent Susumu Inamine, 72, and Taketoyo Toguchi, a 56-year-old former city assemblyman running as independent.

Inamine is backed by "All Okinawa Kaigi," a group of like-minded people and organizations opposing the Futenma relocation and a key power base for Onaga. Toguchi is supported by the Japanese government and the national politics ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, which call for promoting the construction of a Futenma replacement facility in Henoko in line with a Japan-U.S. agreement.

The outcome of the election is expected to help set the course for base relocation work and swing votes in the Okinawa gubernatorial election scheduled for this autumn.

Economy First

"Did the citizens' lives improve during the eight years under the current city government? Was the economy revitalized?" Toguchi asked in a street speech on Tuesday in the Sedake area overlooking Oura Bay, the planned new base site, while stressing his policies such as providing free school lunches. His nine-minute speech never touched upon the base relocation issue.

In a street speech on Sunday in the Henoko area, Toguchi noted only, "I will closely watch the course of legal battles" between the central and prefectural governments over the relocation.

Toguchi previously showed tolerance of the relocation as a city assembly member, but he now stops short of clarifying his stance to show consideration for the Okinawa prefectural chapter of Komeito, which opposes the relocation, unlike the party's headquarters.

The Komeito chapter allowed its members to vote at their own discretion in the previous Nago mayoral election, but this time it will provide Toguchi with the same level of support as for a national election, according to officials. His campaign office in Nago is always crowded with Komeito members of local assemblies in the prefecture.

The LDP has been sending executives to Nago to rally support for Toguchi. "We will do our best to back (Toguchi) not only in the mayoral race but also in the city government," LDP Vice President Masahiko Komura said at a gathering, pledging financial support for a city government under Toguchi.

Wataru Takeshita, chairman of the LDP's General Council, has visited used car dealers to call for support for Toguchi.

On Wednesday, LDP Chief Deputy Secretary-General Shinjiro Koizumi, one of the party's most popular politicians, visited Nago.

"This election is not a proxy war between the governor and the central government but a policy debate for the sake of community development," Koizumi said in a street speech, standing alongside Toguchi. "Let's put an end to the proxy war," Koizumi said, seeking to downplay the Futenma issue in the election campaign.

A series of accidents and problems involving U.S. military aircraft since last year have cast shadows over Toguchi's election campaign.

On the heels of the defeat of the incumbent supported by the ruling coalition in a closely contested mayoral race in the Okinawa city of Nanjo on Jan. 21, LDP House of Representatives lawmaker Fumiaki Matsumoto recently resigned as state minister of the Cabinet Office due to a gaffe over the aircraft incidents.

"Such things cut us to the bone," a senior member of Toguchi's campaign team said.

Concern over Mood of Resignation

Seeking a third four-year term, Inamine called for support for his campaign to block the base relocation in a street speech in Henoko on Sunday.

"The construction of the new base will have adverse effects on the economies of Nago and the whole of Okinawa Prefecture. It does much harm and no good," Inamine said. "Please wake up," he said, appealing to residents who back the relocation.

Speaking in support of Inamine, Governor Onaga criticized the central government and ruling parties for trying to build support with the prospect of budgetary appropriations for Okinawa.

"The carrot dangled before you will be gone in a few years," he said.

Still, a national lawmaker elected from Okinawa who supports Inamine expressed concern over the election campaign focusing too much on the Futenma relocation, saying, "We can't win (the election) merely by highlighting opposition to the base."

With embankment work already under way for the new base in Henoko, Inamine's supporters are concerned that a mood of resignation may form among the public.

"Although citizens oppose the relocation, we never know if this will lead to our victory in the election," an official said.

Inamine's camp is therefore working hard to win support from the construction industry, which is believed to favor the relocation.

"Unless we brace up, we won't win the race," Onaga told some 70 lawmakers and prefectural assembly members opposing the relocation in an urgent meeting on Monday.

A vocal critic of the heavy U.S. military presence, Onaga has demanded that the Futenma base be taken out of Okinawa altogether. A defeat in Nago would be fatal for Onaga, who has been campaigning to stop the relocation against a backdrop of public support.

"There would be no cause for me to run in the upcoming gubernatorial election if we lose in the Nago race," Onaga was quoted as telling his aides. Jiji Press