VZCZCXRO6748
PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHNH #0199/01 2541216
ZNR UUUUU
P 111216Z SEP 06
FM AMCONSUL NAHA
TO RUEHC/RRF DOS PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY
INFO RHMFIUU/18WG CP KADENA AB JA
RHMFIUU/5AF YOKOTA AB JA
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUSFNSG/CDR10THASG TORII STATION JA
RHMFIUU/CG FIRST MAW
RUHBABA/CG III MEF CAMP COURTNEY JA
RHMFIUU/CG III MEF
RUHBANB/CG MCB CAMP BUTLER JA
RUHBBEA/CG THIRD FSSG CAMP KINSER JA
RUHBABA/CG THIRD MARDIV CAMP COURTNEY JA
RUHBABA/CG THIRD MARDIV
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/COMFLEACT OKINAWA JA
RHMFIUU/COMMARCORBASESJAPAN CAMP BUTLER JA
RHMFIUU/COMMARFORPAC
RHHMHAA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI
RHOVVKG/COMSEVENTHFLT
RHMFIUU/COMUSJAPAN YOKOTA AB JA
RUHBVMA/CTF 76
RUYLBAH/DODSPECREP OKINAWA JA
RUESDJ/FBIS OKINAWA JA
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ PACAF HICKAM AFB HI
RHHJJAA/JICPAC HONOLULU HI
RHHMBRA/JICPAC PEARL HARBOR HI
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA PRIORITY
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/NAVCRIMINVSERVRA OKINAWA JA
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUHBANB/OKINAWA AREA FLD OFC US FORCES JAPAN CAMP BUTLER JA
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE PRIORITY
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY
RUEAHIC/USARPAC COMMAND CENTER FT SHAFTER HI
RUEHKO/USDAO TOKYO JA
RUALBCC/YOKOTA AB HQ USFJ

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAHA 000199 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/J; SECDEF FOR ISP/J; USFJ FOR J5, J4 
 
TAGS: MARR PINS JA
SUBJECT: OKINAWA MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS BODE WELL FOR 
IMPLEMENTING REALIGNMENT AGREEMENTS 
 
 
(SBU) Summary:  The September 10 municipal assembly elections, 
held in 26 Okinawan cities, towns and villages, showed some 
positive trends for implementing the Okinawa-related portions of 
the USG-GOJ Alliance Transformation and Realignment (ATARA) 
report.  Conservatives retained the majority and gained a seat 
in the Nago City, the intended destination of a replacement 
facility for Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Futenma. 
Conservatives retained the majority in Ginowan City, current 
host to MCAS Futenma, and Okinawa City, the second-largest city 
in the prefecture and co-host to Kadena Air Force Base, despite 
small gains by anti-base reformists.  End Summary. 
 
(U) 428 candidates stood for 361 positions in 26 different 
municipal assembly elections, all held on September 10.  The two 
Okinawan daily newspapers, the Ryukyu Shimpo and Okinawa Times, 
provided extensive coverage of the results available from 25 of 
the 26 municipalities.  With just 18% more candidates than there 
were seats, there were no large swings between conservative and 
reformist numbers.  Nevertheless, there were positive results in 
three cities that are important to ATARA initiatives related to 
Okinawa. 
 
(SBU) Conservatives retained and added slightly to their 
majority of seats in Nago City, host of Camp Schwab and the 
planned location of the MCAS Futenma replacement facility (FRF). 
 Nago voters chose 16 conservatives, ten reformists and one 
neutral candidate for their 27-member assembly.  Both Okinawa 
daily newspapers groused that conservative candidates refused to 
focus on the FRF as an issue, so they never properly engaged the 
reformist camp's explicit opposition.   The Ryukyu Shimpo 
acknowledged that the result was a vote of confidence in Mayor 
Yoshikazu SHIMABUKURO, whose successful January 2006 mayoral 
campaign emphasized economic development and improving social 
services. 
 
(U)  The candidate receiving the most votes in Nago was Yohei 
KISHIMOTO, eldest son of the late Tateo KISHIMOTO, the former 
Nago City Mayor best known for having accepted the Special 
Action Committee on Okinawa (SACO) plan to relocate MCAS Futenma 
to Nago City, and who later anointed current Mayor Shimabukuro 
as his conservative successor.  Another new member, Zenko 
NAKAMURA, leads a group opposed to construction of the FRF in 
Nago, while former assembly member Yasuhiro MIYAGI, who led the 
anti-base campaign during the 1997 Nago City referendum on the 
SACO FRF plan, lost his seat. 
 
(U) Ginowan City, current host of MCAS Futenma, elected three 
more reformist assembly members than before, but left in place 
the conservative majority, now 18 seats out of 28 total. 
Okinawa City, the second-largest city in Okinawa and co-host of 
 
NAHA 00000199  002 OF 002 
 
 
Kadena Air Force Base, added two reformists to its assembly, but 
conservatives retained their majority, taking 18 of 30 seats. 
Six women ran for and won Okinawa City assembly sheets, which 
was proclaimed by the papers as a "women's wind" following 
Mitsuko TOMON's April 2006 mayoral victory. 
 
(SBU) Conclusion/Comment: The results in Nago City boded well 
for implementing the FRF plan, and results in Ginowan City and 
Okinawa City were only mildly negative.  Municipal assemblies 
are the Greek chorus of local politics, with no active role to 
play but providing the mood music in which municipal 
executives-and our military bases-operate.  Conservatives having 
a slightly stronger majority in the Nago City Assembly should 
make it easier for the GOJ to coordinate with the city in 
proceeding with the FRF.  The Ginowan City and Okinawa City 
assemblies remained majority conservative, and the small 
reformist gains will offer their vocally anti-base mayors little 
help when the city executives and the city legislatures disagree 
on base issues.  End comment/conclusion. 
MAHER