Tamaki Announces Bid to Seek 3rd Term as Okinawa Governor

Naha, Okinawa Pref., April 25 (Jiji Press)–Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki on Saturday announced his intention to run in the Sept. 13 gubernatorial election, in hopes of securing his third term as governor of the southernmost Japan prefecture. Speaking at a press conference in Naha, the 66-year-old voiced opposition to the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma air station in the Okinawa city of Ginowan to the Henoko district in the city of Nago, also in Okinawa. “A base to be built with new functions would lead to the permanent consolidation (of the base) and is therefore absolutely unacceptable,” he said. He added that the Henoko relocation plan will not lead to an early removal of the dangers posed by the Futenma air station, vowing to urge the Japanese government to resolve the matter through dialogue. Serving as the prefecture’s governor since 2018, Tamaki is backed by the “All Okinawa” camp, which opposes the relocation plan. Genta Koja, 42, former deputy mayor of Naha, plans to run as a de facto candidate of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which supports the relocation plan. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]