2019 Okinawan referendum

24 February 2019 (2019-02-24)
On the central government's plan to conduct landfill work at Henoko, Nago for the planned relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma
Results
Support
 
 19.10%
Oppose
 
 72.15%
No opinion either way
 
 8.75%

A referendum was held in Okinawa Prefecture on 24 February 2019. The referendum asked whether voters approved or opposed the landfill work at Henoko Bay for the construction of a new United States Marine Corps base. This is the second prefecture-wide referendum in Okinawa, the first being the 1996 referendum on the reduction of US military presence. Governor Denny Tamaki announced the referendum in November 2018, fulfilling his manifesto promise from his successful campaign for governor.[1]

The Okinawan electorate voted to overwhelmingly reject the central government's Henoko move plan. 72% of Okinawan voters opposed the plan, with 19% supporting the plan. The Oppose vote also passed the 25% electorate threshold, which means the governor is obliged to respect the result and to convey it to the Prime Minister of Japan and the President of the United States. However, the central government is not legally obliged to respect the result.[2][3]

Referendum question and options

The ballot asked voters to decide:

On the central government's plan to conduct landfill work at Henoko, Nago for the planned relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma[citation needed]

Voters had three options: Support, Oppose and "No opinion either way". It was initially proposed that the referendum had two straight options: Support or Oppose. 5 conservative-aligned mayors of Okinawa City, Uruma, Ginowan, Miyakojima and Ishigaki protested at this plan and threatened to exclude their cities from the referendum. A compromise was reached in January to include the third "No opinion either way" option. The dispute caused a delay on the preparations for the vote in the 5 municipalities.[4] Although a separate voting date for those municipalities was expected initially, the referendum preparations there were finished on time and they will hold the referendum on the same day as the rest of the prefecture.[5]

Early voting was available from 15 to 23 February.[6]

Petition

On 8 December 2018, Okinawan-Hawaiian activist Robert Kajiwara created a petition titled, "Stop the landfill of Henoko/Oura Bay until a referendum can be held in Okinawa" on the White House's We the People petitioning portal. On 18 December, the petition got 100,343 signatures,[7] reaching the necessary number of signatures for it to be reviewed and receive a response by the White House. The petition was drawn to attention by multiple individuals who signed it. People such as Brian May, Rola, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Daisuke Muramoto, Ryucheru, and others have openly expressed their support.[8] The petition received over 200,000 signatures by the end of January.[9] As of February 24 (date of referendum), the White House has not given a response.

Kajiwara was detained and interrogated by Japanese immigration officers when he came to Japan in February 2019 to campaign in the referendum.[10]

Endorsements

Support

Parties

  • Liberal Democratic Party[4]

Individuals

Oppose

Parties

Individuals

No opinion either way

Opinion polling

Date(s)
conducted 		Polling organisation Sample size Support Oppose No opinion
either way 		Undecided Lead
24 Feb 2019 Results 605,385 19.10% 72.15% 8.75% 53.05%
16–17 Feb 2019 Asahi Shimbun Archived 31 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine 1,125 16% 59% 21% 4% 38%
16–17 Feb 2019 Kyodo News 15.8% 67.6% 13.1% 0.5% 51.8%

Results

Choice Votes %
Support 114,933 19.10%
checkY Oppose 434,273 72.15%
No opinion either way 52,682 8.75%
Valid votes 601,888 99.42%
Invalid or blank votes 3,497 0.58%
Total votes 605,385 100%
Registered voters and turnout 1,153,591 52.48%
Source: Okinawa Prefectural Government Archived 26 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine Asahi Shimbun Archived 11 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine

Breakdown

Division Subdivision
Support Oppose No opinion either way Valid votes Invalid votes Turnout[17]
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Total %
Cities Naha 23,372 17.15 102,348 75.08 10,590 7.77 136,310 99.53 650 0.47 136,960 53.44
Ginowan 9,643 24.36 26,439 66.80 3,500 8.84 39,582 99.48 206 0.52 39,788 51.81
Ishigaki 3,566 20.99 12,165 71.60 1,259 7.41 16,990 99.14 148 0.86 17,138 44.63
Urasoe 9,801 20.21 34,498 71.14 4,192 8.64 48,491 99.58 203 0.42 48,694 54.79
Nago 4,455 18.00 18,077 73.04 2,216 8.95 24,748 99.46 135 0.54 24,883 50.47
Itoman 4,523 18.35 17,958 72.84 2,174 8.82 24,655 99.48 129 0.52 24,784 52.13
Okinawa 10,963 19.99 38,571 70.33 5,305 9.67 54,839 99.36 355 0.64 55,194 49.88
Tomigusuku 5,041 18.73 19,504 72.48 2,365 8.79 26,910 99.44 151 0.56 27,061 55.44
Uruma 9,757 20.17 33,891 70.05 4,734 9.78 48,382 99.29 347 0.71 48,729 50.28
Miyakojima 3,228 19.31 12,057 72.12 1,434 8.58 16,719 99.40 101 0.60 16,820 38.48
Nanjō 3,419 17.73 14,303 74.17 1,562 8.10 19,284 99.18 159 0.82 19,443 56.05
Cities total 87,768 19.21 329,811 72.18 39,331 8.61 456,910 99.44 2,584 0.56 459,494 51.51
Towns and villages Kunigami District 5,552 20.33 19,155 70.13 2,607 9.54 27,314 99.25 206 0.75 27,520 52.66
Kunigami 574 28.31 1,199 59.24 252 12.45 2,024 99.41 12 0.59 2,036 51.82
Ōgimi 195 12.85 1,220 80.37 103 6.79 1,518 99.15 13 0.85 1,531 58.04
Higashi 201 23.40 559 65.08 99 11.53 859 98.28 15 1.72 874 57.24
Nakijin 646 14.53 3,430 77.69 339 7.68 4,415 99.24 34 0.76 4,449 58.12
Motobu 1,045 19.76 3,707 70.09 537 10.15 5,289 98.99 54 1.01 5,343 49.33
Onna 881 20.54 3,048 71.05 361 8.41 4,290 99.31 30 0.69 4,320 51.70
Ginoza 488 17.92 1,921 70.55 314 11.53 2,723 99.09 25 0.91 2,748 59.64
Kin 989 22.83 2,949 68.07 394 9.10 4,332 99.59 18 0.41 4,350 48.84
Ie 534 28.65 1,122 60.19 208 11.16 1,864 99.73 5 0.27 1,869 49.07
Nakagami District 12,613 18.36 49,914 72.65 6,175 8.99 68,702 99.43 391 0.57 69,093 56.43
Yomitan 3,145 17.66 12,906 72.49 1,753 9.85 17,804 99.49 92 0.51 17,896 55.80
Kadena 1,154 20.56 3,897 69.42 563 10.03 5,614 98.99 57 1.01 5,671 52.53
Chatan 2,380 20.09 8,372 70.67 1,095 9.24 11,847 99.55 54 0.45 11,901 53.83
Kitanakagusuku 1,423 18.48 5,629 73.10 648 8.42 7,700 99.30 54 0.70 7,754 57.58
Nakagusuku 1,774 18.99 6,783 72.59 787 8.42 9,344 99.39 57 0.61 9,401 57.35
Nishihara 2,737 16.70 12,327 75.20 1,329 8.11 16,393 99.53 77 0.47 16,470 59.67
Shimajiri District 8,111 17.69 33,518 73.11 4,218 9.20 45,847 99.36 297 0.64 46,144 56.73
Yonabaru 1,562 18.34 6,166 72.38 791 9.29 8,519 99.34 57 0.66 8,576 56.41
Haebaru 2,843 16.39 12,960 74.69 1,548 8.92 17,351 99.42 101 0.58 17,452 58.87
Tokashiki 101 26.44 193 48.25 52 13.61 382 99.48 2 0.52 384 66.78
Zamami 103 18.49 381 68.40 73 13.11 557 98.41 9 1.59 566 72.66
Aguni 58 19.80 198 67.58 37 12.63 293 97.99 6 2.01 299 50.76
Tonaki 60 29.27 125 60.98 20 9.76 205 98.56 3 1.44 208 62.84
Minamidaitō 136 28.81 274 58.05 62 13.14 472 98.54 7 1.46 479 49.23
Kitadaitō 78 32.77 109 45.80 51 21.43 238 99.58 1 0.42 239 52.64
Iheya 169 30.95 298 54.58 79 14.47 546 98.38 9 1.62 555 56.98
Izena 205 34.86 307 52.21 76 12.93 588 99.16 5 0.84 593 51.34
Kumejima 573 18.01 2,307 72.50 302 9.49 3,182 99.34 21 0.66 3,203 49.57
Yaese 2,223 16.45 10,164 75.21 1,127 8.34 13,514 99.44 76 0.56 13,590 56.17
Miyako District 133 31.52 254 60.19 35 8.29 422 100.00 0 0.00 422 50.36
Tarama 133 31.52 254 60.19 35 8.29 422 100.00 0 0.00 422 50.36
Yaeyama District 756 28.07 1,621 60.19 217 10.93 2,693 99.30 28 1.03 2,721 57.39
Taketomi 520 26.20 1,248 62.87 99 13.98 1,985 98.06 14 0.70 1,999 59.02
Yonaguni 236 33.33 373 52.68 316 11.73 708 98.97 14 1.94 722 53.32
Towns and villages total 27,165 18.74 104,462 72.05 13,351 9.21 144,978 99.37 922 0.63 145,900 55.77
Total 114,933 19.10 396,632 72.15 52,682 8.75 720,210 99.42 3,506 0.58 605,394 52.48
Source: Results Archived 26 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine Turnout Election information website

Aftermath

The day following the referendum, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that while the central government respected the result, construction works at Henoko would continue. This statement was reaffirmed by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and Minister of Defense Takeshi Iwaya.[18] Construction works at Henoko also restarted straight away, causing indignation among the local populace who voted heavily to oppose it.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b Ito, Kazuyuki (27 November 2018). "Okinawa decides to hold Feb. 24 referendum on U.S. base issue". Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  2. ^ "辺野古埋め立て「反対」が7割超え　知事の得票上回る43万票　沖縄県民投票、投票率は52.48％" (in Japanese). Okinawa Times. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  3. ^ "72% of Okinawa voters oppose work off Henoko for U.S. base". Asahi Shimbun. 25 February 2019. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  4. ^ a b Yamashita, Ryuichi; Ito, Kazuyuki (25 January 2019). "3-answer ballot approved in Okinawa, all cities will vote". Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on 10 September 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  5. ^ "辺野古移設　沖縄県民投票、24日全県で　宜野湾など3市、参加表明". Mainichi Shimbun. 2 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Early voting under way in Okinawa on key U.S. base issue". Asahi Shimbun. 15 February 2019. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  7. ^ "White House petition to halt Henoko construction reaches 100,000 signature goal in 10 days". Ryukyu Shimpo - Okinawa, Japanese newspaper, local news. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  8. ^ "「米国政府動かす男」R・カジワラさん、大阪入管に屈辱の拘束—辺野古基地問題で来日、超党派議員と面談（志葉玲） - Yahoo!ニュース". Yahoo!ニュース 個人 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  9. ^ "Marianas Variety - Okinawa petition to save Henoko Bay reaches over 200,000 signatures". www.mvariety.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  10. ^ Ida, Jun (21 February 2019). "US man who petitioned to halt Henoko landfill questioned 2 hrs by Japan immigration". Mainichi Shimbun. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  11. ^ Narisawa, Kaigo; Ito, Sei; Ito, Kazuyuki (18 February 2019). "Anti-U.S. base moves heat up as referendum in Okinawa looms". Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  12. ^ "立憲民主党が辺野古新基地反対を表明　沖縄県連の発足で枝野氏が会見　県知事選は玉城デニー氏を支援へ" (in Japanese). Okinawa Times. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  13. ^ Kawai, Tatsurou (30 January 2019). "県民投票、対抗手段は「リコールと訴訟」　立憲・枝野氏" (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  14. ^ Ito, Hiroki (9 January 2019). "Fearless Ryuichi Sakamoto won't stay silent on Okinawa base". Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  15. ^ Nakajima, Maki (7 January 2019). "Queen guitarist May seeks signatures for petition against Okinawa base transfer work". Mainichi Shimbun. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  16. ^ Miyagi, Hiroya; Abe, Shihoko (9 January 2019). "203,800 signatures collected for White House petition to halt US base work in Okinawa". Mainichi Shimbun. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  17. ^ 県民投票投票確定 (PDF) (in Japanese). 沖縄県. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  18. ^ "Abe moves ahead with base work in Okinawa after 'no' referendum". Asahi Shimbun. 25 February 2019. Archived from the original on 14 September 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  19. ^ "埋め立て「反対」の民意が示されたのに...　県民投票から一夜明け、辺野古の工事進む" (in Japanese). Okinawa Times. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
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