Okinawa Environmental Justice Project

"Information" Battle of Okinawa: Futenma-Henoko Issues Henoko Base Construction Project at Crossroads Director, OEJP Hideki Yoshikawa Okinawa’s 30-year struggle to halt construction of a new U.S. military base at Henoko-Oura Bay is at another crossroads. The September gubernatorial election brought Genta Koja,  a proponent of the Tokyo government's Futenma-Henoko plan ,  to office, replacing Denny Tamaki, a staunch opponent of the plan. The new governor now appears to be fully and subserviently collaborating with the Tokyo government to advance the plan. The Okinawa Environmental Justice Project and other civil society organizations need to intensify our challenge to the administration a nd the Tokyo government. Stars and Stripes (Sep. 30, 2026) reports that Governor Koja closed the Henoko New Base Construction Countermeasure Division.  Backed by the Liberal Democratic Party, other conservative parties and the Tokyo government, Koja ran his campaign primarily on economi...

Okinawa Gubernatorial Election: Lopsided Result On September 13, 2026, as soon as the voting booths closed at 8:00 pm in Okinawa, all the local media outlets announced Genta Koja as the winner of the Okinawa gubernatorial election over incumbent Denny Tamaki. Koja's victory was widely anticipated .  The Tokyo government, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), other major political parties, and the mayors of all cities in Okinawa, who are also supported by the LDP, endorsed Koja.   His campaign was well-oiled (read: a lot of money was spent) and well-organized .   As a University of Tokyo graduate, a former national bureaucrat, and vice-mayor of Naha city under an LDP-backed mayor, he has been groomed as a "conservative" Okinawa governor. Koja also benefited from the race's farcical unfolding : Mikio Shimoji, another major but maverick candidate and a former LDP National Diet member considered an obstacle for Koja, dropped out and declared his support for Koja jus...

The Futenma-Henoko Stalemate and Okinawa’s Gubernatorial Election:  Why Okinawa Must Look Beyond U.S. Hegemony Director, Okinawa Environmental Justice Project Hideki Yoshikawa  Abstruct The people of Okinawa confront the unsettling prospect that the long-awaited closure and return of U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station may never materialize. Technical issues have delayed construction of Futenma’s replacement facility at Henoko and have raised serious questions about the project's feasibility. The prospect that the U.S. military may use Henoko while Futenma remains operational has become more plausible. The Futenma-Henoko stalemate is a focal point of the September gubernatorial election. To resolve the stalemate and U.S. base issues, the people of Okinawa must recognize and leverage the vast geopolitical and economic shift from U.S.-dominated unipolarity to multipolarity.  Our votes must reflect this crucial awareness. Introduction The people of Okinawa today confront t...