Updated

Genta Koja, backed by Japan's prime minister, won the Okinawa gubernatorial election, defeating two-term incumbent Denny Tamaki. Tamaki had campaigned on relocating a major US military base away from Okinawa, a longstanding point of local contention. The result signals a shift in the prefecture's political stance on the US military presence and could ease friction between Tokyo and Washington over basing issues in Okinawa, a key security post in the Asia-Pacific.