The prefectural ruling camp in Okinawa, led by Gov. Denny Tamaki, failed to secure a majority of seats in Sunday’s election for the assembly of the prefecture.
The tough election result is seen forcing the Okinawa governor, who opposes the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma air station within the prefecture, to face difficulties managing the prefectural administration.
In the election, 75 candidates ran for 48 seats.
The ruling camp, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Social Democratic Party, which support Tamaki, won only 20 seats in the Okinawa Prefecture assembly.
By contrast, the opposition side in the prefecture, including the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Komeito and Nippon Ishin no Kai, grabbed 28 seats.
The opposition side now aims to leverage the election result to regain control of the Okinawa Prefectural Government from Tamaki by winning the Okinawa gubernatorial election set for 2026.
Tamaki told reporters in Naha early Monday that his opposition to the relocation of the Futenma base to the Henoko coastal district in the city of Nago from its current site in the city of Ginowan “remains unwavering.”
“I will continue to do what I can,” he added.
Voter turnout came to a record low of 45.26%, down by 1.7 percentage points from the previous prefectural assembly election in 2020.
Before Sunday’s election, the ruling and opposition camps had 24 seats each.
With an opposition side member serving as the assembly’s head, who does not participate in voting, Tamaki has been narrowly in control of the management of the assembly.
The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly election was crucial also for the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after it suffered defeats in a series of national and local elections recently in the wake of a high-profile slush fund scandal involving LDP factions.