Japan ruling party-backed Nago mayor defeats anti-U.S. base transfer rival

Incumbent Taketoyo Toguchi won a second term as Nago mayor in the southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa on Sunday, in a relief for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida who is pushing for the controversial relocation of a U.S. military base to the city's coastal area.Toguchi, 60, backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito, defeated anti-relocation candidate Yohei Kishimoto in the election, dealing a setback to local efforts to thwart the base construction by the national government.The mayoral race was closely watched as a precursor to a gubernatorial election in the …READ FULL ARTICLE