Top government officials in Tokyo on Monday welcomed the victory by the ruling bloc-backed candidate in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture's mayoral election a day earlier, saying it will give momentum to the Futenma base relocation.
The re-election of Atsushi Sakima, 51, spells good news for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his right-hand man, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, after candidates backed by the ruling bloc suffered a string of defeats in recent key Okinawan elections.
Abe and Suga have pushed for the long-stalled relocation project, which would see U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma move from a crowded residential area in Ginowan to the Henoko area of Nago in northern Okinawa.