Danny Tamaki, the son of a U.S. Marine and Japanese mother, won Okinawa’s governorship Sunday on a platform opposing the U.S. base relocation on the island.
Tamaki defeated Atsushi Sakima, according to NHK and Kyodo news agency, Reuters reports.
Tamaki will replace Takeshi Onaga, who died in August of pancreatic cancer. Tamaki’s position mirrors that of Onaga, Reuters said.{mosads}
The island’s local government and Tokyo have long been at odds over the air base.
America and Japan have agreed to move the base to Henoko, a less populated area of Okinawa.
Some on Okinawa say that is not enough and see the base as an unfair burden on the island, according to Reuters.
Reuters also reports that Sakima’s loss presents a small difficulty for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose party backed Tamaki’s opponent along with the party’s junior coalition partner.