Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine won re-election late Sunday, dealing a setback to the central government's plans to build a replacement air base for the U.S. Marines in the Henoko district just weeks after Okinawa's governor approved the deal.
"This election was easy to understand. It was about one issue, the Henoko issue, and whether you were for or against the new base," Inamine told supporters. "The people have spoken and they have said no."
Inamine, 68, defeated former Okinawa Assemblyman Bunshin Suematsu, 65, by a vote of 19,839 to 15,684. Turnout was high at 76.71 percent.