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Okinawa vote hampers US plans to expand military presence in Japan
As military tensions rise between Japan, the US and China, the re-election of Denny Tamaki marks the third consecutive election in Okinawa where an anti-US base candidate has won with a clear majority, reports PEOPLE'S DISPATCH
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki, who is backed by opposition parties, speaks to media after the gubernatorial election, in Naha, Okinawa prefecture, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.

IN A major setback to plans for expanding the US military presence in Japan, Denny Tamaki, the anti-US base governor of Okinawa, has won a second term in office, continuing his platform against US military bases in the prefecture.

In the gubernatorial election held on September 11, Tamaki won with a clear majority by defeating Atsushi Sakima of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Japan’s centre-right ruling party.

As per the final results, Tamaki, supported by a coalition of opposition groups and local movements, secured 339,767 votes, nearly 51 per cent of the total votes polled. Tamaki defeated his nearest rival Sakima for the second time, with a margin of nearly 10 per cent.

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