Genta Koja, a candidate backed by Prime Minister 
Sanae Takaichi's ruling party, won Okinawa's gubernatorial election on Sunday, unseating incumbent governor Denny Tamaki. Tamaki had long pushed for a major US military base to be moved out of Okinawa, Japan's southernmost prefecture, CNA reported.
How large was the win? Koja won in a landslide, with 423,124 votes to Tamaki's 276,060 by the prefectural government's count. Tamaki, 66, had been seeking a third term.
Where does Koja stand on the Futenma base? Koja, 42, accepts a central government plan to keep the US Marine Corps' Futenma air base on Okinawa's main island but move it to a less populated location, making him the first governor in 12 years to approve of the contentious relocation plan, CNA reported. Japan and the United States agreed in 1996 to move it from the town of Ginowan to another location within Okinawa, after the rape of a 12-year-old schoolgirl by US servicemen triggered strong protests across the prefecture. Then governor Hirokazu Nakaima approved the plan in 2013 but lost the following year to an opponent of the move. The United States has around 54,000 military personnel stationed in Japan, mostly on Okinawa, and a string of incidents over the years, including sexual assault cases, has angered residents.
What did Koja campaign on? Koja, a former civil servant who was also deputy mayor of Naha, the region's capital, campaigned on pledges to double Okinawa's average income, the local government's childcare budget and spending by tourists, CNA reported. Okinawa has long been less prosperous than the rest of the country. On Monday he pledged to "make progress on livelihood issues, the economy and childcare assistance" by listening to the views of all Okinawan residents.
What followed the vote? Takaichi, speaking to reporters in Tokyo, said she would "do my utmost to coordinate efforts with the new governor to strengthen the Okinawan economy". "As for other subjects, I will address those after hearing from the new governor," she said.
Figures referenced: Sanae Takaichi. — JudgeMarket.
