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2018 October 17 - 23 TOP3 [POLITICS]

'All Okinawa' candidate wins reelection as Naha City mayor

"All Okinawa"-backed incumbent candidate Shiroma Mikiko on October 21 was reelected as Naha City mayor by a large margin of about 37,000 votes.

She received 79,677 votes while her rival who was supported by the Liberal Democratic and Komei parties, "Ishin no Kai", and the Hope Party received 42,446 votes. Voter turnout was 48.19%.

For the All Okinawa alliance opposing the construction of a new U.S. base in Henoko, this is the second victory after the Tomigusuku mayoral election (Oct.14) since Tamaki Denny who follows the late Governor Onaga's wishes was elected (Sep.30) as Okinawa Governor by a big margin.

The Abe-led national government having ignored Okinawa's objection to the base construction as clearly shown in the September gubernatorial election has fueled the anger of not only the All Okinawa coalition but also many conservatives and non-partisan voters. Okinawa in the latest mayor race once again demonstrated its strong rejection of the Henoko base project.

During the mayoral election campaign, Shiroma expressed support for and cooperation with Governor Tamaki in regard to the Henoko base issue. She pledged to improve measures dealing with childrearing, child poverty, education, culture, and small business promotion. She also promised to start building a "peaceful, rich, and proud Okinawa" from the prefectural capital of Naha City.

Meanwhile, her opponent refrained from touching upon the base issue and exerted his effort to only criticize the city administration all throughout the campaign period.

Past related articles:
> Opposition parties and new Okinawa governor confirm commitment to work for Okinawa without Henoko base [October 10, 2018]
> Anti-base candidate's victory in Okinawa governor race attracts overseas media attention [October 5, 2018]
> Okinawans again choose opponent of Henoko project as their governor [October 2, 2018]