Nago Mayor Toguchi Wins 3rd Term

Nago, Okinawa Pref., Jan. 26 (Jiji Press)--Nago Mayor Taketoyo Toguchi, supported by advocates of a controversial U.S. base relocation project, won his third term in Sunday's mayoral election in Nago in the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa.

This will deal a major blow to the "All Okinawa" camp, which opposes the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air base in Ginowan, Okinawa, to the Henoko coastal area in Nago.

The election was effectively a one-on-one battle between Toguchi, 64, and former city assembly member Kumiko Onaga, 69.

The incumbent garnered 20,009 votes, while Onaga collected 10,543 votes.

Toguchi was endorsed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, as well as by the Democratic Party for the People and Komeito, while Onaga was backed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party. The All Okinawa camp supported Onaga.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]