Incumbent Taketoyo Toguchi won a second term as Nago mayor in the southern prefecture of Okinawa on Sunday, in a relief for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is pushing for the controversial relocation of a U.S. military base to the city's coastal area.
Toguchi, 60, backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito, defeated anti-relocation candidate Yohei Kishimoto in the election, dealing a setback to local efforts to thwart the base construction by the national government.
The mayoral race was closely watched as a precursor to a gubernatorial election in the island prefecture later this year, along with an Upper House race that is expected to take place this summer at the national level.