Hirokazu Nakaima's election Sunday as governor of Okinawa has given some breathing room to the central government.
For one thing, his victory allowed the Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner New Komeito to bounce back after the candidate they supported in the Fukushima gubernatorial election a week earlier lost to an opposition-backed candidate.
More importantly, it enables the central government to step up talks with the Okinawa government and various municipalities aimed at persuading them to accept the current plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma within the prefecture.