 Anti-base candidate puts up good fight in mayoral election for Naha City In the November 14 mayoral election in Naha City in Okinawa Prefecture, candidate Takazato Suzuyo, who called for opposition to U.S. military base relocation within the prefecture fought well. The winner was the incumbent mayor Onaga Takeshi backed by the Liberal Democratic and Komei parties. Onaga got 75,292 votes; Takazato, 55,827 votes, with voter turnout at 56.4 percent. Takazato, recommended by the Japanese Communist, Social Mass, Social Democratic, and Democratic parties, is ex-vice chair of the city assembly. She called for a rethinking of the Japan-U.S. agreement on bases, as it causes intra-prefectural relocation of the U.S. bases, and for a city administration that can defend the citizens from bad government of the state. The LDP-Komei camp touted economic promotion measures as a trade-off to hosting bases. In the simultaneous by-election for the city assembly, JCP Oshiro Chosuke won his seat. (end) |