63-year-old Keiichiro Shimura held a press conference in Ginowan City, Friday, to officially announce his run for the Ginowan City Mayor’s seat next January. Incumbent Atsushi Sakima has already announced his candidacy for the second term.

Shimura was born July 8th, 1952, and is from Futenma, Ginowan City. He studied at the Nihon University, and after graduating in 1975 went to work for the Okinawa Prefecture. Shimura served as the Deputy Director General in charge of Construction and Urban Areas in the Prefectural Department of Civil Engineering and Construction before retiring in 2013.

Regarding the MCAS Futenma issue, Shimura declared that the main issue of the mayoral election would be the pros and cons of the MCAS Futenma relocation to Henoko. He added that he opposes the construction of the replacement facility in Henoko. “I will call on the immediate closing and return of the MCAS Futenma,” he stated. When asked for an opinion about a possible relocation site for the facility, Shimura sidestepped the question, saying only, “That’s a matter for the national government. I will only insist on the closure and return.”

Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga was also present at the press conference.

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