Voting Begins in Okinawa Gubernatorial Election

September 30, 2018

Naha, Okinawa Pref.- Balloting began Sunday morning in an election in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, to choose the successor to the late Governor Takeshi Onaga.

The gubernatorial election is a verdict on how Okinawa voters view the Japanese government's plan to relocate a U.S. military base within the prefecture.

The poll is a de facto one-on-one race between Denny Tamaki, a former House of Representatives member backed by forces opposing the relocation plan, and Atsushi Sakima, former mayor of the Okinawa city of Ginowan supported by the ruling coalition.

The central government plans to build a new military base in the Henoko coastal area in the Okinawa city of Nago to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station, located in Ginowan.

Tamaki, 58, touted himself as the successor to Onaga, who staunchly opposed building any new military base in Okinawa. Onaga died of cancer in August.

Sakima, 54, vowed to promote economic development in Okinawa through close cooperation with the central government.

There are two other candidates--Hatsumi Toguchi, 83, a former member of the municipal assembly of Naha, Okinawa's capital, and former company employee Shun Kaneshima, 40.

A record 406,984 people, or about 35 pct of eligible voters, cast early votes by Saturday, according to the Okinawa prefectural election board.

In the previous gubernatorial election in 2014, there were 197,325 early voters. The increase was apparently because of the approach of a powerful typhoon. Sunday's voting will continue until 8 p.m. (11 a.m. GMT). Jiji Press