Overview
- A Kyodo News telephone survey shows incumbent Denny Tamaki and challenger Genta Koja running almost even in the Sept. 13 race.
- The planned relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from crowded Ginowan to Henoko in Nago is the defining divide between the two camps.
- Forty‑six percent of respondents said the next governor should focus on the economy, tourism and jobs, signaling local livelihood concerns matter as much as base politics.
- Tamaki is backed by left‑leaning opposition groups that want bases reduced or removed from Okinawa while Koja has support from the ruling LDP and several coalition partners, making the contest a test of national party strength.
- Okinawa has hosted most U.S. facilities since its 1972 return to Japan, and residents cite crime, noise and pollution as reasons some want bases moved out of the prefecture rather than relocated within it.