FOCUS: Okinawa Gov. Tamaki Faces Wavering Support in 3rd-Term Bid

Naha, Okinawa Pref., April 26 (Jiji Press)--Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki faces wavering support ahead of the Sept. 13 gubernatorial election due to changes in the political landscape as a result of the February general election.

While the 66-year-old is aiming to secure his third term as governor of the southernmost Japan prefecture, the Centrist Reform Alliance has been undecided on its position on the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station in Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area in Nago, another Okinawa city.

The CRA was formed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, which backs Tamaki, and Komeito, which tolerates the base relocation plan, just before the February general election for the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of Japan's parliament.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democratic Party, which leads the ruling camp in national politics, is vying with the CDP to secure Komeito votes in a bid to regain control of the governorship for the first time in 12 years.

At a press conference in Naha, the capital of Okinawa, on Saturday, Tamaki announced his bid for the gubernatorial election.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]