Breaking
RUThe threat of unmanned aerial vehicles has been canceled in the Volgograd regionARThe Houthis announce the downing of a Saudi plane and tension escalates after they are accused of trying to target MeccaRUThe exit from Yaroslavl towards Moscow is reopened after being blocked due to the threat of a UAV attackINTLTrump to Meet Gulf Leaders at UNGA to Discuss Iran War StrategyRUTrump Threatens Tariffs on Europe if Canada Gains EU Associate MembershipINTLRussian airstrikes on Kyiv and Odesa injure at least 13 as war nears fifth winterCNChina U20 Women's Football World Cup 1/8 finals lost to Italy on penalty kick and missed the quarterfinalsRURoskachestvo experts warned about a fraudulent scheme involving the pre-order of a new iPhoneTRAt least 21 people died as a result of a building collapse in Gaza, new war threat from Israeli Defense Minister KatzCNUber Eats announces operating data for 6 weeks after "Delivery Special" went on the road: costs increased by 40% and waiting time for food increased by 7 minutesRUThe threat of unmanned aerial vehicles has been canceled in the Volgograd regionARThe Houthis announce the downing of a Saudi plane and tension escalates after they are accused of trying to target MeccaRUThe exit from Yaroslavl towards Moscow is reopened after being blocked due to the threat of a UAV attackINTLTrump to Meet Gulf Leaders at UNGA to Discuss Iran War StrategyRUTrump Threatens Tariffs on Europe if Canada Gains EU Associate MembershipINTLRussian airstrikes on Kyiv and Odesa injure at least 13 as war nears fifth winterCNChina U20 Women's Football World Cup 1/8 finals lost to Italy on penalty kick and missed the quarterfinalsRURoskachestvo experts warned about a fraudulent scheme involving the pre-order of a new iPhoneTRAt least 21 people died as a result of a building collapse in Gaza, new war threat from Israeli Defense Minister KatzCNUber Eats announces operating data for 6 weeks after "Delivery Special" went on the road: costs increased by 40% and waiting time for food increased by 7 minutes
Newsgather
All StoriesWorldSportsFinanceTechScienceHealthCultureClimatePoliticsSpace
BackOkinawa elects conservative governor who accepts US base relocation, ending 12 years of anti-base politics
Okinawa elects conservative governor who accepts US base relocation, ending 12 years of anti-base politics
Developing
SCMP Economy48 minutes agoPolitics2 min readChina

Okinawa elects conservative governor who accepts US base relocation, ending 12 years of anti-base politics

okinawagenta kojadenny tamaki

Quick Look

Okinawa elected conservative Genta Koja as governor in a landslide victory over two-term anti-base governor Denny Tamaki, accepting Tokyo's plan to relocate the US Marine Corps' Futenma air station from Ginowan to Henoko, marking a shift from 12 years of opposition to the US military base issue driven by economic hardship.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

Okinawa has hosted a significant US military presence since World War II, with the Futenma air station in Ginowan being a long-standing source of local opposition due to noise, safety concerns, and crime. Anti-base sentiment has dominated Okinawan politics for over a decade, led by governors like Denny Tamaki who inherited the stance from predecessors.

Font size

Frustrated by economic hardship, Okinawans have rallied behind a new governor, leaving long-standing anti-base resistance in disarray

4 -MIN READ4 -MIN

Published: 11:00am, 17 Sep 2026

Okinawa has handed a landslide victory to a conservative who accepts Tokyo’s plans for relocating a controversial US airbase – delivering a blow to 12 years of anti-base politics in Japan’s southernmost prefecture.

Genta Koja’s victory on Sunday over two-term governor Denny Tamaki raised a question cutting to the heart of Okinawa’s post-war politics: is it finally starting to move on from the US military base issue?

Koja, a 42-year-old conservative backed by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party, campaigned on economic revival and accepting Tokyo’s plan to relocate the US Marine Corps’ Futenma air station from densely populated Ginowan to the coastal Henoko district in Nago, both on Okinawa Island.

Tamaki, by contrast, had opposed the base project for his entire tenure as governor, a stance he inherited from his late predecessor after winning 2018’s election on an anti-base platform.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

  • The Futenma base relocation to Henoko will proceed without major delays from Okinawan gubernatorial opposition

    Likely · Within months

  • Economic revival will be a central focus of Genta Koja's governorship

    Likely · Within months

Open Questions

  • How will the base relocation project proceed under the new governor's cooperation?
  • What specific economic policies will Genta Koja pursue to address Okinawan hardship?
  • Will the anti-base movement regroup or dissipate following this electoral shift?

Related Topics

okinawa
PeopleGenta KojaDenny TamakiSanae Takaichi
OrganizationsLiberal Democratic PartyGovernment of JapanOffice of the Governor of Okinawa
PlacesOkinawaGinowanHenokoNago
Topicsgenta kojadenny tamakius base relocationfutenmahenokoliberal democratic party
This article was originally published by SCMP Economy.

Related Stories

Shen Boyang proposed to build a special bicycle bridge across the Keelung River from Windward to Hong Kong. The Transportation Bureau reminded that careful evaluation is needed
Developing·

Shen Boyang proposed to build a special bicycle bridge across the Keelung River from Windward to Hong Kong. The Transportation Bureau reminded that careful evaluation is needed

Shen Boyang, a Taipei mayoral candidate from the Democratic Progressive Party, proposed the construction of the "Windward-Hong Kong Special Bicycle Bridge across the Keelung River" with a total length of 340 meters and a cost of 957 million yuan, aiming to turn bicycles from a holiday leisure into a daily commuting option. The Transportation Bureau pointed out that the plan involves bridge piers, road space and pipelines. The construction will require the closure of two lanes for more than two years, which may cause serious impact on traffic in Neihu and requires careful evaluation. Shen Boyang responded that it is now a dark period for construction and should propose a response method, and emphasized that the "iron horse commuting" is a policy that has not been promoted by the Beijing Municipal Government and needs to be done better.

自由时报
2 min read
Analysis of Kaohsiung City Councilor Lin Yukai of the People's Party running for Sanmin District
Developing·

Analysis of Kaohsiung City Councilor Lin Yukai of the People's Party running for Sanmin District

The People's Party has only nominated Lin Yukai to run for city council in Kaohsiung City and will compete for the 7th District of Sanmin District. Liu Jiarong, chairman of the party committee, assessed that the current five seats of the Kuomintang and the Democratic Party are stable for re-election, and the remaining three seats will be competed by five people. Lin Yukai estimates that he will need about 3,500 more votes to be elected. He plans to mobilize supporters and middle voters, and predicts that Ke Wenzhe and Huang Guochang will go south to support the election.

自由时报
2 min read
Changhua County Assembly dinner involved election bribery, prosecutors charged three parents of speaker Xie Dianlin
Developing·

Changhua County Assembly dinner involved election bribery, prosecutors charged three parents of speaker Xie Dianlin

The Changhua District Prosecutor's Office investigated a case of allegedly inviting an election meal to the Changhua County Council on June 23, and determined that Speaker Xie Dianlin and his parents Xie Xinlong and Zheng Rufen were involved in bribery for voting in violation of the election recall law. The application for detention was approved. Five other people, including Liu Nan, a cadre from the service office, and Huang Nan, a council cadre, were detained. Seven people, including Chen Zhenfei, a candidate for mayor of Xihu Town, posted bail of NT$30,000 to NT$100,000.

自由时报
2 min read
The first five-year plan of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was announced to align with the country’s “15th Five-Year Plan” and clarify quantitative targets for people’s livelihood.
Developing·

The first five-year plan of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was announced to align with the country’s “15th Five-Year Plan” and clarify quantitative targets for people’s livelihood.

The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Lee Chia-chiu, simultaneously released the first five-year plan (2026-2030) in his 2026 policy address, which is closely aligned with the country's "15th Five-Year Plan" and clearly proposes quantitative people's livelihood goals such as basically solving poor-quality subdivided housing and shortening the waiting time for public housing to less than 4 years by 2030. It also focuses on the construction of the northern metropolitan area, the construction of four international centers and one highland, and the improvement of people's livelihood, aiming to promote Hong Kong's revitalization and high-quality development.

中国新闻网
3 min read
The first five-year plan (2026-2030) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was officially released, and the Chief Executive’s 2026 Policy Address was released simultaneously.
Developing·

The first five-year plan (2026-2030) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was officially released, and the Chief Executive’s 2026 Policy Address was released simultaneously.

The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Lee Ka-chiu, officially announced the "First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030)" on September 16, and simultaneously released the 2026 Policy Address. The plan is closely aligned with the country's "15th Five-Year Plan" and focuses on key areas such as consolidating and upgrading the "Four Centers and One Highland", promoting the construction of the northern metropolitan area, and improving people's livelihood. It proposes quantitative goals such as basically solving inferior subdivided housing and shortening the waiting time for public housing to less than 4 years by 2030. The planning text has gone through more than 100 public consultations and collected more than 17,000 opinions. It aims to build a systematic governance system and promote the high-quality development of the "one country, two systems" cause.

中国新闻网
3 min read
More on this topicokinawa