Nago mayoralty campaigning starts with focus on U.S. base

January 28, 2018

NAGA, Okinawa Pref.- The incumbent opposed to the planned relocation of a controversial U.S. military base and an independent backed by the ruling coalition filed their candidacies on Sunday for the Feb. 4 mayoral election in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture.

Susumu Inamine, 72, is seeking a third four-year term with support from Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga, who has worked to block the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station, located in a congested area of Ginowan, Okinawa, to the Henoko coastal area of Nago.

Taketoyo Toguchi, a 56-year-old former city assembly member, is backed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition, which wants to push ahead with the base transfer under a Japan-U.S. agreement.

Inamine is supported by the Democratic Party, the Japanese Communist Party, the Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. Toguchi has the backing of the ruling bloc of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, as well as the Nippon Ishin no Kai.

In a campaign kickoff rally, Inamine underscored the need to block the Futenma relocation. "The government is offering full support (to the other candidate) as it hopes to promote the relocation to Henoko. We must prevent it from happening," he said. Jiji Press