Koja wins Okinawa prefecture gubernatorial election; voter trends seen in exit polls

In the Okinawa prefecture gubernatorial election (votes counted on the 13th), which was won by newcomer Genta Furusa (recommended by the Liberal Democratic Party and others), Jiji Press conducted an exit poll at the polling stations. Of those who voted for incumbent Denny Tamashiro in the previous election in 2022, 33.2% voted for Koja. As for the most important policy, ``relocation of U.S. military Futenma Air Base (Ginowan City) to Henoko, Nago City,'' which ranked first last time, fell to second place after ``economy and employment.'' It appears that voters are losing interest in preventing the relocation, which has been Mr. Tamaki's banner.

The most important policy was "economy/employment" at 32.7%. ``Henoko relocation'' was cited at 26.1%, followed by ``childcare/nursing care/welfare'' at 22.5%. ``Defense of the Nansei Islands with an eye toward China'' was 3.9%, and ``Capsizing accident off the coast of Henoko'' was 2.6%.

By age group, Mr. Kojae outperformed Mr. Tamaki in all ages from 10 to 60, gaining support from a wide range of people.

People in their teens to 50s place the most importance on the economy and employment, and Mr. Kojae's opinion was solidified by around 70% of those in their 10s to 40s. On the other hand, among people in their 60s and older, interest in the Henoko relocation was highest, and among those who placed importance on the relocation issue, Mr. Tamaki received support of nearly 80%.

In terms of party support, Mr. Koja gained more than 80% support from the Liberal Democratic Party, Sangyo, Komeito, and Japan Conservative Parties, and also extended his support to the Democratic Party of the People and Japan Restoration Party. Mr. Tamaki received the support of 90% of both the Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party, and 80% of the Constitutional Democratic Party. The number of valid responses to the exit poll was 621.