Nago Mayor Taketoyo Toguchi, center front row, celebrates his re-election to a third term in the northern Okinawa Prefecture city on Jan. 25, 2026. (Kyodo)
NAHA, Japan (Kyodo) — Incumbent Nago mayor Taketoyo Toguchi was assured of his third term in Sunday’s election, Kyodo News projections showed, in a boost to the ruling coalition that has supported him as the relocation of a U.S. military base progresses despite local opposition in Okinawa.
Toguchi, 64, defeated his rival Kumiko Onaga, a 69-year-old former city assembly member who opposes the relocation plan, after a battle that was also in the spotlight for the list of ruling and opposition political parties that endorsed them, irrespective of the political realignment that has jolted national politics.
The mayoral contest came ahead of the Feb. 8 nationwide general election, and as the southern island prefecture prepares for a gubernatorial race due later this year.
Toguchi was backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and its current coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party. But he also received support from the Komeito party, a longtime coalition partner of the LDP until they broke up in October.
Komeito, which has sided with the LDP in approving with the relocation of the U.S. military base, then joined hands with the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan to launch a new centrist opposition force earlier this month.
Onaga was endorsed by the CDPJ, which has opposed the planned relocation to Nago, among others.
The co-leader of the Centrist Reform Alliance, Yoshihiko Noda, was elusive when asked during an online program over the weekend if the new force supports or opposes the relocation.
“The best we can do is to deal with this issue by listening to the voices of people in Okinawa,” he said.
The transfer within Okinawa Island of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station from a crowded residential district in Ginowan, in the island’s south, to the less populated Henoko coastal area of Nago, in its north, has long been a controversial issue.
Okinawa hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan. Opposition to the relocation plan has remained strong due to concerns about noise, safety and environmental impact.
AloJapan.com