Japanese PM tightlipped after Okinawa mayoral election, locals, officials remain opposed to U.S. base move

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe remained tightlipped Monday following the victory of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-backed incumbent in a mayoral election in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, a day earlier.

Abe merely told reporters on Monday that his party-backed candidate getting reelected to be mayor of Gionwan, a city in Okinawa that hosts a U.S. airbase the central government plans to relocate within the island, was, "good," opting not to elaborate.

The shutting down and relocating of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma was a central theme of the mayoral elections concluding Sunday, as the city is densely populated and the base, described by some military analysts as "one of the most dangerous in the world," has been a source of distress to the locals, due to issues of noise, pollution and accidents.

Abe's defense minister, Gen Nakatani, meanwhile, told reporters that the result of the election, which saw incumbent Ginowan Mayor Atsushi Sakima defeat Keiichiro Shimura, who was backed by Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga, a stanch opponent to the relocation of the base, showed that the city's electorate "appreciated" Sakima's efforts to remove dangers posed by the base.

Nakatani added that he hoped to continue dialogue with the local citizens and will visit the prefecture on Sunday.

"I would like to continue dialogue with locals so as to win their understanding for the planned relocation of Futenma to the Henoko area," Nakatani said.

The deal inked between Japan and the U.S. to relocate the base within the island was predicated on the former gaining the understanding of the locals for the move, a condition far from being achieved by the central government.

Sakima, meanwhile, has said that he wishes the base to be shut down at the earliest opportunity and the land the base has been built upon returned to Okinawa. He has also suggested he supports the base being replaced with a Disney resort.

"I'd like to call on the government for the return of the airfield to be implemented without further delay," Sakima was quoted as saying after confirmation of his victory on Sunday evening.

But while Sakima, although being supported by the central government, hasn't himself unequivocally stated whether or not he supports plans for the base to be relocated to a coastal region of Okinawa, a move strongly opposed by the generality of Okinawa's citizens, civic groups and officials, Onaga has stated he remains committed to blocking the relocation move.

Onaga told local reporters following Sakima winning the election Sunday evening that, "Okinawa's wishes haven't been realized. Our policy to protest the base's transfer to Henoko will not change."

Showing his support for Onaga and despite his own loss, Shimura told local media that he "hopes Governor Onaga will do his best to realize the will of the people that the excessive burden cannot be accepted."

Much as Sakima's victory has been trumpeted by the ruling LDP-led camp as their own victory in the impasse between the central and prefectural government, which has seen both parties sue each other over the contentious base issue, as well as helping efforts as the ruling bloc gears up for upper house elections this summer, plans to relocate the base will not be supported by local Okinawans and a plethora of prefectural officials including Onaga.

The majority of Japanese people, polls have shown, including those on the mainland and on Okinawa island, believe Abe and his administration are mishandling the base relocation issue, with the generality in Japan's southernmost prefecture wanting the new base relocated off the island at a bare minimum, and out of Japan entirely if possible.

Okinawans have consistently called on both prefectural and central governments to see their base-hosting burdens lifted and rallies at the site of the replacement facility in the coastal Henoko region on the island have become more frequent and more vociferous of late.

Okinawa hosts some 75 percent of U.S. bases in Japan, yet the tiny sub-tropical island accounts for less than 1 percent of the county's land mass.

Locals want the base moved off the island as Okinawa has been hosting the bulk of U.S. forces since the bloody Battle of Okinawa in 1945, which was the U.S.'s only land assault on Japan during WWII and saw more than 100,00 Japanese soldiers and as many civilians killed during the battle.

Okinawan civilians, many of whom were starved and otherwise horrifically abused by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) both before and during the battle, were also coerced into committing mass suicides by the IJA in the final throws of the battle.

"We will never forget our history or how we were treated. The mistreatment is continuing today as the government continues to try and take advantage of us," a local resident from the Henoko district was quoted by local media as saying Monday after the Ginowan election.

"So, once and for all, we want this base relocated off our island. And hopefully we can campaign for the closure of more bases and have our land returned to us," the elderly islander said, adding, "Our resolve has never been stronger." Endit