Opponent of U.S. military bases wins Okinawa gubernatorial election

By Simon Denyer
September 30 at 11:52 AM

TOKYO — Denny Tamaki was elected Sunday as the next governor of Okinawa prefecture in Japan, after a campaign focused on sharply reducing the U.S. military presence on the island.

Okinawa is home to about half the 54,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan and houses the largest U.S. air base in the Asia-Pacific region. The U.S. military says its presence on the island is vital not only for the defense of Japan but also for keeping the peace in the entire region, from Taiwan and China to the Korean Peninsula and down to the Philippines.

But Okinawans feel that their small island bears an unfair burden of the U.S. military presence in Japan. They complain about the noise of low-flying aircraft and the dangers of accidents, as well as crimes committed over the years by members of the U.S. military. Some also feel that the presence of the bases could make their island a target in any regional military confrontation.

Tamaki, like previous governor Takeshi Onaga, who died in office last month, wants a fundamental reduction of the U.S. presence here, a stance that will add stress to the United States’ alliance with Japan.

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