本次选举成为首相高市早苗推动提升自卫队实力并获美方支援政策的最新试金石。执政党支持的42岁挑战者古谢玄太与寻求连任的现任知事玉城丹尼民调旗鼓相当；针对争议已久的普天间基地迁往边野古计划，古谢倾向以此作为最快关闭普天间的务实解方并主张分担基地负担，而玉城虽反对迁移，但在法律手段用尽后也淡化了基地争端，转为聚焦于振兴观光与推动经济成长等政绩。
民调显示，冲绳有45%受访者支持加强当地军力部署，超过持反对意见的34%，其中40多岁族群支持率更高达69%。年轻一代较少受二战后美军占领历史的包袱束缚，更在意中国威胁与经济民生问题。除了国家安全议题，由于冲绳平均收入居全日本之末，两位候选人皆将提高所得与发展产业列为重点政见，使防卫自卫与改善民生成为牵动本次选情的双重焦点。
A closely contested gubernatorial election in Japan's Okinawa prefecture underscores a growing acceptance among younger voters for a stronger military to counter escalating threats from China. For decades, local frustration focused heavily on hosting about 70% of the land used exclusively by US military bases in Japan, but persistent incursions by Chinese jets and drones around the archipelago are shifting the debate away from sole opposition to the American military presence toward strengthening defense capabilities.
The election serves as a crucial litmus test for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's push to build a more assertive military backed by the US. The ruling party-backed challenger, 42-year-old Genta Koja, is running neck-and-neck with incumbent Governor Denny Tamaki; regarding the contentious relocation of the Futenma air base to Henoko, Koja backs the move as the fastest way to shut Futenma while advocating burden-sharing across Japan, whereas Tamaki, having exhausted legal avenues, has tempered base rhetoric to highlight economic achievements and tourism growth.
Polls show that 45% of Okinawans support the buildup of Japanese defense forces in the archipelago compared with 34% opposed, with backing reaching 69% among respondents in their 40s. Unburdened by post-WWII legacies, younger residents are driven more by immediate security risks and economic prospects. Furthermore, with Okinawa having the nation's lowest average income, both candidates have heavily focused on boosting wages and economic development alongside national defense.