Okinawa Race Focus Shifts to Ties with Central Govt

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Sept. 6 (Jiji Press)--With one week to go before the gubernatorial election in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, the relationship between the central government and the island 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.

Ripples of Unified Conservative Force

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