21 March 2017

News Story: Candidate against island's use by U.S. military wins mayoral race

Mage Island Japan (Click Image to Enlarge)
KAGOSHIMA, Japan (Kyodo) -- Shunsuke Yaita, a candidate opposed to the use of an island in southwestern Japan for U.S. military activities, won the Nishinoomote mayoral election on Sunday.

The victory by Yaita, a 63-year-old former news reporter, over three other candidates, including one supporting the use of Mage Island for military plane landing exercises, throws cold water on the central government's plan to acquire land on the small uninhabited island in Kagoshima Prefecture.

Mage Island is approximately 12 kilometers west of Nishinoomote, the main city on Tanegashima Island. If the exercises are approved for Mage Island, aircraft may fly over the city.

Yaita will inherit the policy of his predecessor, who has consistently opposed the use of the island as a permanent landing practice site for the U.S. military's carrier-based aircraft since the plan emerged in 2007.

Read the full story at The Mainichi