Incumbent Ishigaki City Mayor Yoshitaka Nakayama retained his mayor’s seat in the election held on Feb. 2.

42-year-old Nakayama who ran as an independent but was backed by the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan and its coalition partner, the New Komeito, won the second term when he beat his opponent, 66-year-old Nagateru Ohama, who also ran as an independent. In the election, Nakayama got 15,903 votes against Ohama’s 11,881.

During the campaign, Nakayama stressed the need to improve the local infrastructure and business environment. As an example, he cited the economical benefits of building the new Ishigaki Airport. “By investing in infrastructure for tourism, businesses will thrive and that will improve the lives of Ishigaki citizens,” Nakayama said.

In contrast, Ohama wanted to invest in better medical equipment in the Okinawa Prefectural Yaeyama Hospital, boost social welfare, and advance “peaceful administration.”

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