Photo/Illutration A board shows three candidates running for the governor of Okinawa Prefecture in Naha on Aug. 30. (Noriki Nishioka)

NAHA--Incumbent Denny Tamaki is leading in the Okinawa gubernatorial election scheduled for Sept. 11, but around 20 percent of voters remain undecided, according to a telephone survey conducted on Sept. 3 and 4.

Tamaki, 62, was ahead of Atsushi Sakima, 58, a former mayor of the Okinawan city of Ginowan.

A third candidate, Mikio Shimoji, 61, a former Lower House member, has only a slim chance of winning, according to the survey jointly conducted by The Asahi Shimbun, The Okinawa Times and Ryukyu Asahi Broadcasting Corp.

Tamaki staunchly opposes the central government’s plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, now in Ginowan, to a new offshore base in the Henoko district of Nago in the prefecture.

The incumbent is widely backed by voters who are against the relocation plan and among respondents 70 years old or older.

Tamaki is also the preferred choice among supporters of opposition parties, such as the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party, as well as unaffiliated voters, the survey showed.

In addition, Tamaki was backed by around 20 percent of voters who support the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, according to the survey.

Sakima, a candidate who is pushed by the Kishida administration and is in favor of the relocation plan, is backed by 70 percent of LDP supporters.

He is also strongly supported by male voters.

Shimoji has called for a partial review of the Futenma relocation plan.

In a separate opinion poll, respondents were asked to choose from four answers which factor is the most important in deciding how they will vote.

Plans for revitalizing the local economy was picked by the most respondents, at 48 percent, followed by dealing with U.S. base issue at 32 percent, the candidate’s personality and background at 11 percent, and political parties and groups that support them at 6 percent.

Sakima received more support than Tamaki among respondents who were focused most on the local economy.

According to the survey, 56 percent of voters oppose the Futenma relocation plan, while 26 percent support the move.

Computer-generated landline or mobile phone numbers were used to contact voters in Okinawa Prefecture for the survey.

Of the 1,726 voters contacted, valid responses were received from 888, or 51 percent.

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