Incumbent, 2 Challengers Run for Mayor of Okinawa’s Nago

Newsfrom Japan

Politics

Jan 18, 2026 18:41 (JST)

Nago, Okinawa Pref., Jan. 18 (Jiji Press)–The incumbent mayor and two challengers filed their candidacies on Sunday for the Jan. 25 mayoral election in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, which will focus on the planned relocation of a U.S. military base to the city’s Henoko coastal area.

The mayoral election comes in the run-up to a House of Representatives election expected on Feb. 8 and an Okinawa gubernatorial election to be held as the current governor’s term ends in September.

The Nago election will effectively be a one-on-one battle between incumbent Taketoyo Toguchi, who is seeking a third term, and former city assembly member Kumiko Onaga.

Toguchi, 64, is backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the Japan Innovation Party, the Democratic Party for the People and Komeito, while Onaga, 69, is endorsed by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party.

Onaga is also supported by the “All Okinawa” camp, which opposes transferring the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma air base in Ginowan, Okinawa, to Henoko.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]

Jiji Press