What next for Okinawa’s anti-base alliance after Japan election loss?
Analysts point to a shift in priorities among younger Okinawans as a possible factor in the alliance’s bruising defeat in the election
All Okinawa brings together a broad spectrum of opposition forces, including the local branches of the Japanese Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Okinawa Social Mass Party.
The groups are united by a pledge to halt construction of a new US military facility in the coastal district of Henoko – planned as a replacement for the US Marine Corps’ Futenma air station – and to reduce the burden placed on the prefecture by the heavy concentration of American forces.
Ahead of the vote, members of the alliance – known locally as “Okinawa zenken” – had voiced cautious optimism. The scale of the subsequent setback has since prompted debate over whether the movement is losing its hold on voters, and why.