NAHA–The Naha deputy mayor will run in the Okinawa gubernatorial election and likely gain support from the Liberal Democratic Party to unseat incumbent Denny Tamaki, who is expected to seek a third term.
Genta Koja, 42, on Jan. 11 received the endorsement of a candidate selection committee comprising local economic organizations and others.
“I will realize a prefectural administration that moves people’s lives forward,” Koja said.
The election will be held before Tamaki’s current term expires in September.
Koja is a former bureaucrat at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. He ran as the LDP-endorsed candidate in the 2022 Upper House election for the Okinawa constituency but failed to win a seat.
He has served as Naha deputy mayor since December that year.
Tamaki, 66, has expressed his desire to seek a third term and is expected to soon announce his candidacy.
The “All Okinawa” coalition on Jan. 6 decided to urge the incumbent to run.
The coalition opposes the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan to the Henoko district in Nago, also in Okinawa Prefecture.
Non-LDP candidates opposing the Henoko relocation have won three consecutive Okinawa gubernatorial elections.
However, the central government has advanced reclamation work for the new base off Henoko.
The coalition supporting Tamaki lost its majority in the 2024 prefectural assembly election.
(This article was written by Kazufumi Kaneko and Satsuki Tanahashi.)
AloJapan.com