Success of the Japanese government in Nago, a city at the heart of the debates around the American base in Okinawa

The Japanese government can be satisfied with the re-election on Sunday January 23 of Taketoyo Toguchi as mayor of Nago, in the Okinawa archipelago. Tokyo is betting on this success to relegate to the background the controversies around the relocation to this commune of the activities of the American marine base of Futenma, today in Ginowan, another city of Okinawa.

Supported by the ruling coalition, the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) and the Komei Party, Mr. Toguchi, 60 and a former insurer, won nearly 20,000 votes, against 14,400 for his first opponent, Yohei Kishimoto. At 68.32%, the participation rate has never been so low.

Mr. Kishimoto was campaigning against the transfer of Futenma, decided in accordance with a Japanese-American agreement of 1996 after the kidnapping and rape of a 12-year-old girl by three American soldiers, a tragedy that had upset Okinawa. He enjoyed the support of the opposition and the governor of Okinawa, Denny Tamaki, known for his hostility to American bases.

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Mr. Kishimoto was also banking on dissatisfaction with the American military. GIs arriving from the United States without being tested and not subject to the strict customs controls imposed by Japan would have spread the Omicron variant of Covid-19 to Okinawa. The Okinawa archipelago has suffered a record increase in contamination since the beginning of January.

“Strengthen the alliance” with the United States

Hostility to the transfer of Futenma and to the American bases was, however, overshadowed by economic concerns. Mr. Toguchi attributed his re-election to the policy carried out during his first term, marked in particular by free crèches and school canteens. Every year since its first election in 2018, Nago and its 60,000 inhabitants have received 1.3 billion yen (about 10 million euros) in subsidies.

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Nago’s success puts the prime minister, Fumio Kishida, in a good position to keep repeating, like his predecessors, that the transfer to Nago is ” the only solution “ to settle the problem of Futenma, and to underline its support for the alliance with the United States. In a Jan. 21 interview with U.S. President Joe Biden, Mr. Kishida spoke about his “determination to develop Japan’s defense capabilities” and to “strengthen the alliance” bilaterally, in the face of the threats posed by China and North Korea. From this perspective, Okinawa, which concentrates 70% of the American bases in Japan, remains a strategic asset.

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