英訳 Base Opponents Win Majority In Nago, Okinawa Election 〜Higashionna wins landslide victory〜
Takuma Higashionna was elected for a second term as a Nago city council member. The voter turnout was 72.07%, or 32,384 votes, which was slightly lower than the previous 74.66% turnout, or 32,485 votes. Thirty-seven people ran for 27 seats, but Higashionna won by 1,059 votes, up from the 728 votes he won during his last run for a city council seat. Many citizens backed Higashionna’s support for Nago Mayor Inamine’s policy to protect dugongs and boost regional development. The ruling party took four more seats for a total of 16, versus the 11 seats held by opposition party. “The citizens have expressed their will to prevent a new military base from being set up on our land or in the sea. We will appeal to the government fairly and squarely,” said Nago Mayor Inamine. Current Ginowan Mayor Yoichi Iha, who will run in Okinawa Prefecture’s gubernatorial elections on November 28, also weighed in. “The Japanese government’s efforts to back the opposition party were ultimately in vain. Now they should take the local opposition seriously,” Iha said. The SDCC would like to cooperate with Mayor Inamine and the ruling party to establish Dugong Protection area.