Okinawa election win may give Tokyo freer hand on military build-up
TOKYO: A candidate backed by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government won Okinawa’s gubernatorial election on Sunday, ousting an opponent of Tokyo’s military build-up across the strategically important island chain near Taiwan and China.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government secured a victory in Okinawa's gubernatorial election, with candidate Genta Koja defeating incumbent Denny Tamaki on Sunday. Koja's win, which received 59% of the vote, marks the end of 12 years of rule by governors often at odds with the central government. Tamaki's defeat could weaken efforts to halt the relocation of US Marines from the busy Futenma air base to a more remote facility at Henoko, on Okinawa's main island.
The Okinawa election result comes as Takaichi prepares to unveil a new national security strategy that is expected to accelerate Japan's biggest military build-up since World War Two. Takaichi's administration believes increased defence spending is necessary to deter China from using military force to advance its territorial ambitions in East Asia.
Brief written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Okinawa election win may give Tokyo freer hand on military build-up freemalaysiatoday.com
- Japanese PM-backed candidate wins Okinawa gubernatorial election aljazeera.com
