The 2014 Election in Okinawa

Abstract

Elections in Okinawa differ from the rest of the country. The issue of US bases dominates all other considerations. Over 73% of the area for US bases in Japan is currently located in Okinawa.¹ Bases cause many problems for the local population, including the noise of planes taking off and landing, periodic accidents, and inter-cultural friction. However, bases also provide economic benefits. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has long represented voters who see the benefits as outweighing the costs. Opposition to the bases has been represented by a variety of parties, including the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) and a local party, the Okinawa Social Mass Party, in which reformists honor Article 9 of the constitution and pursue pacifism. Whenever protests have threatened the bases, the LDP government has responded by supplementing the benefits, such as base-related subsidies to improve the quality of local life and mitigate problems (Calder, 2007: 130–139; Cooley and Martin, 2006). In the 1972–2006 gubernatorial elections, foreign threats also stimulated patriotism and the demand for national security, raising political support for the pro-base candidates (Kagotani and Yanai, 2014). Yet base opponents continue to win elections, especially local gubernatorial and mayoral elections and local referenda on the bases. Even in those races, however, material interests affect voting behavior (Eldridge, 1997).