Kalpana Kalpana (Editor)

Okinawa at large district

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit

The Okinawa at-large district is a constituency of the House of Councillors in the Diet of Japan (national legislature). It consists of the entire prefecture of Okinawa and was created in 1970 following the agreement between US president Richard Nixon and prime minister Eisaku Satō on restoration of Japanese sovereignty over the Ryūkyū islands. Okinawa is represented by two Councillors electing one every three years.

Single-member districts for the House of Councillors ([参議院]一人区, [sangiin] ichininku) usually get higher attention in House of Councillors elections because they are easier to swing completely than multi-member districts and thus play a decisive role for the outcome of elections. As a result of the concentrated US military presence in Okinawa, the prefecture has become a focal point of political debate over the mutual security treaty which is the cornerstone of Japanese foreign policy. The district was in many elections contested between only two candidates backed by the major postwar parties, the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japan Socialist Party (JSP). The Japanese Communist Party (JCP) in Okinawa unlike in most other districts for national elections cooperated with the Socialists in nominating candidates in the form of the Kakushin Tōitsu (革新統一, "progressive unification").

Current Councillors for Okinawa are:

  • Aiko Shimajiri (LDP, Tsushima faction; term ends 2016), elected in 2006 for I love Okinawa! Kagayaku Kenmin no Kai with support of LDP and Kōmeitō
  • Keiko Itokazu (Okinawa Social Mass Party; term ends 2019), formally sits as an independent in the Diet, she was elected as a Social Mass candidate with the support of the People's Life Party, JCP, Social Democratic Party and Green Wind party at the 2013 election.
  • References

    Okinawa at-large district Wikipedia