NAHA, Japan - Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki voiced concern Tuesday that the excessive base-hosting burden of the prefecture will continue to increase, as he left office after two four-year terms marked by his clashes with the central government over the planned relocation of a U.S. military base.
Genta Koja, who defeated Tamaki in the Sept. 13 gubernatorial election and supports the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to the coastal Henoko area of Nago, will take office Wednesday. Koja's administration will be Okinawa's first in 12 years to accept the relocation plan.
At a press conference Tuesday, Tamaki criticized the lack of a clear timetable for the return of Futenma, even though Japan and the United States agreed in 1996 that the base would eventually be closed and the land returned.
"The situation leaves me no choice but to question whether the Japan-U.S. alliance is functioning properly," he said.
Tamaki also warned that the burden on Okinawa from hosting the bulk of the U.S. military presence in Japan will continue to grow if the matter is left to the central government, without sufficient understanding for and explanation to local residents.
Tamaki was first elected governor in 2018 as the successor to Takeshi Onaga, a fierce opponent of the relocation to Henoko who died that year.
Beyond the base issue, Tamaki made progress in tackling child poverty, a longstanding challenge in Okinawa. But its per capita income remains among the lowest in Japan, while much of the economic benefit of its booming tourism industry continues to accrue outside the prefecture.
Meanwhile, Koja campaigned on promoting Okinawa's economy through closer cooperation with the central government.
