Danny Tamaki, the son of a US Marine and Japanese mother, smiles after he was elected in gubernatorial election in Naha, on the Japanese southern island of Okinawa on Oct 1, 2018. (JIJI PRESS / AFP)
TOKYO - Denny Tamaki, a former opposition
lawmaker and opponent to the central government's plans to relocate the US Marine Corps Air Station called Futenma within the prefecture, won the Okinawa
gubernatorial election Sunday, local media reported Monday.
Denny Tamaki is against relocating the US Marine Corps Air Station called Futenma within the Okinawa prefecture. He won a record-high 396,632 votes
Tamaki's victory, which will see him take over from the late governor Takeshi Onaga, himself a staunch proponent of not relocating the controversial base, will cause more problems for the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
READ MORE: Japan election weighs controversy of US bases on Okinawa
The
Japanese government wanted to move the base from a crowded residential area of
Ginowan to the less populated coastal district of Henoko in Nago, both in
Okinawa.
Tamaki, 58-year-old, a radio personality-turned-politician,
won a record-high 396,632 votes, easily beating former Ginowan mayor Atsushi
Sakima, 54, who won 316,458 votes and had the backing of the ruling coalition
and two other candidates in the governor race.
"I will firmly convey
the Okinawa people's will to oppose the base transfer to the central government
and make requests accordingly," Tamaki told a press briefing in Naha after the
election results were announced.
"I definitely support the prefecture's
withdrawal in August of approval for landfill work necessary for the US base
transfer," which effectively halted construction of the new base, he said.
Paying homage to his predecessor, Tamaki said, "Mr Onaga staked his
life on achieving the mission of building no more bases in Okinawa. His wish was
shared by people in the prefecture and led to my victory," said Tamaki.
Tamaki said he was picked by Onaga prior to his death as his successor.
Former Deputy Ginowan Mayor Masanori Matsugawa, meanwhile, won in the mayoral
election held the same day.
Matsugawa has not clarified his stance on
the base relocation, although he is backed by the ruling camp.
ALSO READ: Abe vows to go on with US base relocation in Okinawa after poll
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