TOKYO - The victory of a former bureaucrat
over a socialist female candidate in Sunday's
closely contested gubernatorial election in
Okinawa, host to major United States military
bases in Japan, has boosted the government's plans
to strengthen its military ties with Washington.
But, say analysts, it may still not mean
smooth sailing for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe, who has made the bilateral
realignment plan a
cornerstone of his foreign policy.
''The
election result in Okinawa is certainly a boost to
Prime Minister Abe, who is spearheading an active
role for Japan in foreign diplomacy with the US.
But whether this means that Okinawa will now
easily embrace a beefed-up US-Japan military
alliance is still to be seen,'' said Tetsuo Maeda,
a defense analyst at Tokyo International
University.
Japan is taking a tough stance
on North Korea, putting up economic blockades in
addition to United Nations sanctions imposed on
Pyongyang for conducting a nuclear-weapon test.
Abe has won high approval ratings - more
than 70% - for his tough stand among the people
who deeply resent the abduction of Japanese
nationals by Pyongyang as well as its ambitious
nuclear program.
Okinawa and its
surrounding subtropical islands remain a key
platform for Abe. The island's population has long
fought against the US bases. These battles
intensified after the prefecture gained
independence from US occupation in 1974.
But the gubernatorial-election results
have now paved the way for flexibility on a
controversial plan to move the US Marine Corps
Futemma base within the prefecture, under an
agreement signed between Tokyo and Washington in
May.
The plan also includes a new landfill
site along the island's coastline by 2014 as part
of a military realignment.
Abe, who
expressed relief at the results, was quick to
applaud the winner on Sunday in Hanoi, where he
was attending the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation summit. "We need to go forward with
the realignment plan with the reduction of the
burden of Okinawa residents in mind,'' he told
reporters.
The contest between Hirokazu
Nakaima, backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic
Party, and Keiko Itokazu, a staunch campaigner
against the new base, was billed by activists as a
milestone in the future of Japan's goal of
emerging as a regional military power.
Anti-base groups that supported Itokazu
billed the election as important for Japan-Asia
relations. They argued that the new realignment
plans will only worsen the already cold East Asia
regional ties resulting from visits to the
Yasukuni Shrine by former prime minister Junichiro
Koizumi, who paid respects to the Japanese war
dead including Class A criminals responsible for
the past colonization of much of Asia.
''People are torn between worrying about
the bases that have created so many social
problems and wanting central-government
subsidies,'' said activist Yasushiro Miyagi,
vowing to continue the fight.
Maeda said
the newly elected governor in his victory speech
did not publicly say yes to the new scheme to
build a new runway for an airfield on existing
land in Nago.
''Nakaima is aware of the
public's discontent over hosting US bases and will
tread cautiously. This will mean the central
government will not be able to rush through plans
to expand Japan's military capabilities,'' said
Maeda.
Experts also point out that by
selecting Nakaima, the message by the electorate
was a call for economic revival over military
issues, marking a step away from the traditional
issue that has consumed Okinawa for decades.
''By voting for Nakaima, voters showed
they wanted their immediate problems, such as
unemployment, to be dealt with quickly,'' said
Fumio Matsuo, a political writer.
Nakaima's election pledge was to boost
tourism and use the land from the relocation of
Futemma base for new development projects.
Matsuo noted that Nakaima won in areas
such as the capital Naha, where major businesses
are established.
The Asahi Shimbun,
Japan's second-largest newspaper, pointed out on
Monday that voter turnout, despite exceeding 63%,
was not strong among the younger generation, an
indication that the base issue may not be as
strong a concern as before.
''After years
of fighting with the central government, the ...
election is a sign of fatigue in Okinawa,'' Matsuo
said.
