Okinawans were electing a new governor Sunday, as Tokyo scrambles to reconcile its strained security alliance with Washington and voters who want a US base moved.
Japan and the United States squabbled for much of the past year over the relocation of the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, amid hardening opposition on the southern island to the large US military presence there.
The base lies in an urban area of Okinawa, where residents have long complained about aircraft noise and the risk of accidents, and is set to be relocated to a coastal location on the island.
There are two main contenders in Okinawa's gubernatorial election — incumbent Hirokazu Nakaima, 71, and Yoichi Iha, 58, former mayor of Ginowan city, which currently hosts Futenma.
Whoever wins will have authority to block any offshore runway construction, potentially putting a major obstacle in the way of the base move — and both are against the plan, preferring to see the base leave the island altogether.
But high tensions in the region following a North Korean artillery attack on a South Korean island Tuesday and Tokyo's recent diplomatic spats with Beijing and Moscow highlight Japan's need for US security support, say analysts.
As a result Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government faces a tough task in cultivating an alliance referred to by US President Barack Obama as a security "cornerstone", while not angering voters at home, say analysts.
The issue is yet another headache for a government already under pressure over its handling of a faltering economy and rows with Moscow and Beijing.
Both candidates made last-minute pitches to voters Saturday evening, pledging they will work towards removing the unpopular airbase.
Nakaima told voters the alliance is sustainable only if those who have to host US bases are happy.
"We want the Futenma base off the island precisely because we recognise the Japan-US alliance is important," he said.
Iha said "We can never succumb to US pressure and allow the construction of a new base on the island."
The two were neck-and-neck going into the vote, the most recent newspaper polls showed, with around 20 percent of the electorate undecided.
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