New Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki said Thursday he will dedicate all his strength toward blocking the Japan-U.S. plan to relocate a key American military facility within the prefecture.
"With my whole mind and body, I will do my best to achieve the return (of the land occupied by) the Futenma base as early as possible and halt the construction of a new base in Henoko," Tamaki said at a news conference to mark the beginning of his four-year term.
The former radio personality won Sunday's gubernatorial election with a pledge to stop the controversial plan to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from a crowded residential area of Ginowan to the less populated coastal district of Henoko in Nago, both in Okinawa.