Okinawa mayor found dead in Tokyo hotel, illness suspected

A mayor of a city in the southernmost Japanese prefecture of Okinawa, which hosts a US military base at the heart of a controversy over its relocation, was found dead in a Tokyo hotel on Friday, police said. He is suspected to have died from an illness.

Masanori Matsugawa, mayor of Ginowan, was discovered on a bed in his hotel room after he failed to show up at a planned engagement.

According to Ginowan officials, Matsugawa arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday to file a request regarding how to utilise the land where the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is based once it is relocated.

The mayor had met with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday at the prime minister’s office, and was scheduled to return to Okinawa on Friday.

Matsugawa was serving his second term after being elected mayor in September 2018, backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. He has been seeking the prompt closure of the Futenma base due to safety concerns.

The central government plans to move the base to the less populated district of Henoko in Okinawa, but the construction of the replacement facility has met with stiff local resistance.