Incumbent Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, whose election campaign was largely based on his opposition to the government's plan to relocate the Futenma base within Okinawa, secured more than half the votes in the gubernatorial election on September 11. He said his reelection reflects growing local resentment against the relocation plan.

Okinawa prefecture covers less than 1 percent of Japan's land area, but hosts about 70 percent of the facilities dedicated to the U.S. military in Japan. For years, the local Okinawa and central governments have been at odds over the relocation of the base.

Yuji Fukumoto, the head of All Okinawa Kaigi, said: "The winning of the anti-U.S. base incumbent has reflected the public opinion of opposing the military base." The former mayor of Nago City, Susumu Inamine, pointed out that the construction of the base in Henoko is entirely a strategic necessity of the U.S. military. 

"The existence of military bases has limited the free development of the prefecture, which has been the case for 77 years. Okinawa will be better off if it has the free rights to development," said Chobin Zukeran, director of the East Asian Community Institute Ryukyu Okinawa Center.