With ballot counting to begin in the Nago City Mayoral Election, it will be a truly epic battle over Henoko, with results confirmed late tonight. (25ja26)

Splendor of Okinawa: Violet, roadside Uruma, 25ja26


Vote counting is about to begin in Okinawa Prefecture’s 25 January Nago City Mayoral Election. For the eighth mayoral election running, the planned relocation of the US Military Futenma Airfield from Ginowan City to Henoko in Nago has again spouted up. The ballot opening will begin at 9 p.m. and the results are expected to be mostly confirmed by late tonight. 


The 3 candidates, all registered as unaligned, are:

Katsuya Iha (67), a cram school manager and a new contender.

Kumiko Onaga (69), a new contender and former member of the Nago City Assembly, nominated by the Communist Party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, the Socialist Party,  and the Okinawa Social Masses Party.

Taketoyo Toguchi (64), the incumbent mayor seeking his third term, nominated by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the Japan Restoration Party, the Nationalist Party, and Komeito.


 On the relocation plan, Candidate Onaga stands by her opposition, asserting, “I’m against it to protect the safety of our residents and our environment!” She has received the support of Governor Denny Tamaki and the political forces of All Okinawa. 


Moreover, Candidate Onaga has publicly touted that she will develop the city, eschewing the National Government’s US Military reorganization grants.


Mayor Toguchi, expresses neither approval nor disapproval of the relocation, but offers his tacit consent to it. He further touts his accomplishments over the 8 years of his two terms of making school tuition and school meals free of charge,  funded by the reorganization grants. He promises, “I’ll take that government assistance and plan the improvement of your lives!” 


After the election had already been promulgated, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced the dissolution of the House of Representatives. 


Meanwhile, Komeito and the Constitutional Democratic Party were setting up their new Center Reform Alliance Party,  and the Okinawa Prefecture Komeito Headquarters had already chosen Mayor Toguchi as its nominee in the election. 


Thus, the usual set of LDP-Komeito vs. All Okinawa is once again fighting it out.


Original Japanese article: Asahi Shimbun, published Sunday 25 January 2026 at 08:15, Byline: Kazushi Kaneko.

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/235d7591185d4467f9061c8bd1ab0e65f4906ed0


Denny in the News: Denny Tamaki is the governor of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. Although important as an international tourist destination and a key element in strategic US Military Forces, its governor receives very little coverage in the Japanese press and almost none in the English language media. 


This blog hopes to  translate one news article a day on the governor.  It is unsponsored and unauthorized. The translator simply hopes to improve his skills and perhaps give the governor an English speaking audience. 


Any suggestion on improving the translation will be gratefully accepted. However, please leave political comments for another forum.


Where they occur, words and phrases in Ryukyuan (the Okinawan language) are rendered in italics and translated in parentheses. Names  whose readings are uncertain are rendered as Name (=Kanji?) as in Nagayuki (=長行?). Any corrections in such instances would be gratefully appreciated.

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