Okinawa re-elects opposition-backed governor in blow to ruling party (updated)
11/09/2022 12:51
(Adds analyst comment, context on Unification Church issue)
By Elaine Lies and Yoshifumi Takemoto
TOKYO, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Voters in Japan's Okinawa
re-elected Denny Tamaki as governor on Sunday, public
broadcaster NHK and other media said, backing an independent
candidate who wants a smaller U.S. military footprint on the
chain of islands near Taiwan.
The anticipated re-election of Tamaki, who was supported by
a coalition of opposition parties, is a sign of pushback against
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's ruling party, which has been hit
by scandal over members' ties to the Unification Church.
Okinawa prefecture is far closer to Taiwan than to Tokyo,
putting it front and centre to growing tension in the region.
China this summer launched five missiles into the sea close
to Okinawa, and within Japan's exclusive economic zone, during
military exercises after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited
Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own.
NHK and other Japanese media declared Tamaki the winner,
citing exit polls. Official results are expected overnight.
The son of a U.S. Marine and a Japanese mother, Tamaki was
first elected as governor four years ago when he campaigned
against U.S. military presence. This time, he focused more on
the economy, after the pandemic battered Okinawa's tourism
industry.
He told cheering supporters that he would continue to work
to bolster the social safety net for the poor, although he did
not skirt the contentious issue of U.S. military bases.
"I have not wavered one millimetre, nor will I, in my
efforts to resolve the base issue and I will continue to share
my thoughts with the people of the prefecture and seek a
solution from the government," he said.
His victory is likely to be seen as a setback for Kishida's
ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which has seen approval ratings
slide over revelations about the long-running links between some
lawmakers and the Unification Church, which critics call a cult.
Kishida has apologised for his party's ties to the church
and vowed to win back public trust by severing them. The
backlash has also fanned public opposition to a planned state
funeral for slain former premier Shinzo Abe, who delivered a
speech at an event hosted by a church affiliate last year.
"The governor's re-election was expected, but the issues at
stake were not only bases," said Hiroshi Shiratori, a professor
of political science at Hosei University in Tokyo. He said Abe's
funeral and the Unification Church scandal also played a role.
"They also had an impact."
Kishida's ruling (LDP) has pushed for increased defence
spending to counter Beijing and backed former local mayor
Atsushi Sakima. Tamaki defeated Sakima in 2018, partly by
calling for the large Futenma U.S. air base to be moved outside
the prefecture.
Okinawa saw some of the bloodiest fighting in World War Two
and has long resented the burden of hosting the majority of U.S.
troops in Japan on facilities that take up 5% of its land.
(Reporting by Elaine Lies and Yoshifumi Takemoto; Additional
reporting by Nobuhiro Kubo and David Dolan; Editing by Chang-Ran
Kim, William Mallard, Frances Kerry, Alexander Smith and Tomasz
Janowski)
((elaine.lies@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-4563-2748;))