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January 21, 2014

Okinawa Voters Re-elect Mayor Opposed to U.S. Military Base 
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Voters on the Japanese island of Okinawa have re-elected a mayor opposed
to the relocation of a major U.S. military base. Local officials agreed
to a deal last month that would move the base from a densely populated
urban area to a more remote location. But a decades-long movement of
Okinawa residents has opposed the base altogether and pushed for ousting
U.S. forces off the island, citing environmental concerns and sexual
assaults by U.S. soldiers on local residents. The mayor of Nago, Susumu
Inamine, campaigned on a pledge to block construction of the replacement
site. The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had tried to swing the
election in favor of Inamine's opponent early this month by offering the
prospect of hundreds of millions in public funding.

 

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