TOKYO—Okinawa’s incumbent governor who opposes an ongoing U.S. Marine base relocation forced by Japan’s central government and calls for a further reduction of American troops on the southern island secured his reelection on Sunday despite concerns of escalating tensions between China and nearby Taiwan.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki and his supporters declared his victory and celebrated with the chants of “banzai” soon after the exit poll results showed he beat two contenders—Atsushi Sakima, backed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s governing bloc and supports its base relocation plan, and another opposition-backed candidate Mikio Shimoji.
Tamaki, who is backed by opposition parties, won 339,767 votes, or about 51 percent of the effective votes, over Sakima’s 274,844 votes and Shimoji’s 53,677, according to the final results released Monday by the Okinawa prefecture. Polls were held Sunday before his first four-year term is to end later this month….