Okinawa's anti-base faction retained and slightly increased its majority in the prefectural assembly following Sunday's election, representing a victory for Gov. Takeshi Onaga and a setback for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Candidates who supported Onaga and ran in opposition to relocating the U.S. Marine base at Futenma, in central Okinawa Island, to the northern part of the island won 27 of the 48 assembly seats. Of the 21 remaining seats, 14 went to the LDP and four went to Komeito. The rest were taken by candidates who fundamentally oppose Onaga.
Voter turnout was 53.31 percent, up 0.82 point from the previous prefectural assembly poll, in 2012.