Anti-U.S. base candidate Inamine wins Nago mayoral election+

NAGO, Japan, Jan. 25 Kyodo -
Susumu Inamine, who has been opposed to accepting the U.S. Marine Corps'
Futemma Air Station, won the mayoral race Sunday in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture,
making it difficult for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to implement a 2006
Japan-U.S. accord to relocate the facility to Nago.

Hatoyama has said he wants to see the election result before making any
decision on the U.S. base issue and vowed to conclude negotiations with the
United States by the end of May, but prospects are dim that he can find a
feasible alternative site.
Inamine, 64, backed by the DPJ among other parties, beat his sole rival
incumbent Nago Mayor Yoshikazu Shimabukuro, 63, who expressed willingness to
accept the existing plan if the government led by Hatoyama's Democratic Party
of Japan decides to follow the bilateral accord.
Under the 2006 deal between a previous Japanese government led by the Liberal
Democratic Party and the United States, the city of Nago with a population of
about 60,000 will have to have a new heliport base built along the coast of the
U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Schwab near the city's Henoko area to accommodate the
Futemma facility currently in Ginowan, another Okinawa city.
''I was campaigning in the election with a pledge not to have a new base built
in Henoko waters and will hold on to the pledge with conviction,'' Inamine told
his supporters who gathered in front of his office after securing victory.
He said the city has long failed to demonstrate one unified local mandate,
citing that a majority of residents voted against the relocation plan in the
1997 local referendum, while candidates who were willing to accept the plan had
won the past three mayoral polls.
''It (my victory as the anti-U.S. base candidate) shows this is one single will
of the local people,'' Inamine said, receiving a roar of applause from
supporters.
The voter turnout stood at 76.96 percent, up 1.98 percentage points from the
previous election, with Inamine garnering 17,950 votes, while Shimabukuro
attracted 16,362, according to the city's election board.
During campaigning until Saturday, Inamine promised not to have another base in
Nago and end the long-standing dispute over the issue, which he claimed has
divided the city, while also criticizing that base-related government subsidies
have done little to revitalize the local economy.
Shimabukuro, meanwhile, had made virtually no mention of the relocation issue,
arguing it is a matter that neither a mayor nor the local people should decide
on.
Instead, he highlighted what he has achieved during his past four-year term
including the creation of 1,000 jobs by inviting companies from outside the
city, as well as maintaining economic stability by taking advantage of
base-related state subsidies.
Admitting his defeat and offering an apology to his supporters, Shimabukuro
said Sunday night, ''I did not expect the election would turn out like this,
but this is the judgment made by people.''
Inamine ran as an independent with support from the DPJ and its coalition
partners -- the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party -- and the
Japanese Communist Party, while Shimabukuro, also an independent, had the
backing of two opposition parties -- the LDP and the New Komeito party.
As the result could either way affect the government's policy on the Futemma
relocation issue, however, the DPJ's headquarters apparently refrained from
appearing at the forefront of the campaigning unlike it did in local elections
that took place before the House of Representatives election last August.
In the meantime, the Shimabukuro office turned down overtures for campaign
speeches from Diet members of the LDP citing the continued sluggish popularity
of the once-dominant ruling party that suffered a crushing defeat in the lower
house election to the DPJ.
Inamine was also supported by civic groups opposing the construction of a new
U.S. base, while Shimabukuro was largely backed by construction firms that have
benefited from and expect to continue benefiting from the state subsidies and
related public works projects.
Among the 44,896 eligible voters, 14,239 residents, or around 30 percent, cast
ballots in early voting, according to the election board.
Since taking office last September, the 62-year-old Hatoyama has been evasive
on the issue and that has been widely seen as straining Japan-U.S. relations.
==Kyodo
2010-01-25 00:39:04


Delete & Prev | Delete & Next