Japan ruling camp-backed Koja set to win Okinawa gubernatorial election

Genta Koja, the candidate backed by Japan's ruling coalition, is set to win today's Okinawa gubernatorial election, defeating incumbent Denny Tamaki, according to projections by public broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News.

Koja, 42, a former deputy Naha mayor and central government bureaucrat, will be the first Okinawa governor in 12 years to accept the controversial plan to relocate US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from Ginowan to the coastal Henoko area of Nago in Okinawa Prefecture.

Tamaki, 66, who was seeking a third four-year term, has opposed the relocation plan and called for the base to be moved outside the prefecture.

Okinawa continues to host the bulk of facilities exclusively used by US Forces Japan.

Six candidates contested the Okinawa gubernatorial election. Tamaki was supported by the "All Okinawa" coalition, which includes the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Japanese Communist Party, and opposes the relocation of the US military base within the prefecture. Koja was backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Japan Innovation Party, as well as opposition parties, including the Democratic Party for the People and Sanseito.

Koja will also become the first Okinawa governor born after 1972, when the United States transferred the administration of Okinawa to Japan after 27 years of US control. He will be the first LDP-backed candidate to win the quadrennial Okinawa gubernatorial election since 2010.