Okinawa race focus shifts to ties with central government

Naha, Okinawa Pref. – With one week to go before the gubernatorial election in Okinawa, the relationship between Japan’s central government and its southernmost prefecture has emerged as a new point of contention. In the de facto head-to-head battle, challenger Genta Koja, 42, said he will stop making the central government look like a villain, while incumbent Governor Denny Tamaki, 66, vowed to speak up against the government. Meanwhile, the debate over the planned relocation of the U.S.

Marine Corps’ Futenma air station in the Okinawa city of Ginowan to the Henoko coastal district in Nago, another Okinawa city, has faded into the background.