NAHA — Genta Koja won the Okinawa gubernatorial election Sunday with 59 percent of the vote, defeating two-term incumbent Denny Tamaki and ending more than a decade of local resistance to U.S. military expansion.
Koja, 42, a former deputy mayor of Naha, was backed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party. He will become the youngest Okinawa governor since the prefecture returned to Japanese rule from the U.S. in 1972, and the first governor born after that reversion.
Tamaki, 66, had consistently opposed a major U.S. military base relocating within Okinawa. Koja's victory could clear a path for the relocation of U.S. Marines from the Futenma air base to a new facility at Henoko on the main island—a move Okinawa has resisted through legal challenges for years.
Masaaki Gabe, professor emeritus at the University of the Ryukyus, said Koja's win may make it easier to open civilian airports and ports to military use. The shift aligns with Prime Minister Takaichi's plans to unveil a new national security strategy this year and accelerate Japan's largest military build-up since World War II.
The strategy reflects Tokyo's focus on countering China. Takaichi's administration has increased defense spending to deter what it says are Chinese military threats to Japan's territorial interests in East Asia. Last year, Takaichi stated that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could threaten Japan and trigger a Japanese military response.
Okinawa holds a critical strategic position in what military planners call the first island chain—a string of territory extending from Japan through the Philippines that constrains China's access to the western Pacific. Japan's westernmost territory, Yonaguni Island, lies 110 kilometers (68 miles) east of Taiwan. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own and has escalated military activity around the democratically governed island.
The campaign also reflected local concerns over rising prices. Reports indicate growing acceptance among younger Japanese voters for a stronger military posture, driven by perceived threats from China. Okinawa hosts a large portion of the U.S. military presence in Asia.
