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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NAHA 000238 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  11/8/2031 
TAGS: MARR JA KN
SUBJECT: OKINAWA GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN: POSTER SPOT REPORT 
 
NAHA 00000238  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Kevin K. Maher, Consul General, U.S. Consulate 
General Naha, U.S. Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (d), (g) 
 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The Okinawa Prefecture gubernatorial race 
remains too close to call, and the two major candidates are 
engaged in a technically illegal unofficial poster campaign. 
The reformist parties backing the woman running as their unified 
candidate seem torn between self-promotion and getting her 
elected.  The conservative candidate, meanwhile, is attempting 
to simultaneously soften his image and present himself as the 
tough alternative to an inexperienced opponent.  Pending 
large-scale polling over the weekend before the November 19 
election, the signs provide a graphic glimpse into campaign 
tactics.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) A short analytical piece in the November 6 Ryukyu Shimpo 
reported the three Okinawa gubernatorial candidates were rushing 
to register and affix their official posters to the 2,370 
campaign boards erected around the prefecture.  An election 
official reportedly commented that failing to post one's own 
photo before or as soon as one's opponents could be interpreted 
as a lack of interest in, or support for, one's own candidacy. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) We have, in fact, noticed that all three candidates 
are taking care to post their faces on the official campaign 
boards.  The reformist parties' unified candidate, National 
Upper House Diet Member (Okinawa Socialist Masses Party) Keiko 
ITOKAZU, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito coalition 
candidate Hirokazu NAKAIMA, and dark horse Okinawa Independence 
Party candidate Chosuke Yara have standard "head shots" on most 
of the official boards.  The election law prohibits the 
candidates from posting campaign material anywhere other than 
the official campaign boards.  Nevertheless, the unofficial (and 
technically illegal) poster campaign between the two major 
candidates is heated and entertaining. 
 
Reformists' Chilly Embrace 
¶4.  (SBU) Unofficial posters of the parties backing Itokazu 
sometimes make no reference to her-or even Okinawa.  The 
starkest example is the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) "Nihon 
wo Kaeru" (Change Japan) poster, which features head shots of 
national figures Yukio HATOYAMA, Ichiro OZAWA and Naoto KAN. 
Nothing on the poster mentions Okinawa or Itozaku, even 
indirectly.  Compared to the DPJ, Sozo posters featuring a 
3/4-length photo of National Diet Member Mikio SHIMOJI, his arms 
raised in victory, seem more supportive of Itokazu.  The 
poster's text starts, "A Woman Governor," and concludes with 
 
NAHA 00000238  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
Sozo's own party slogan, "Okinawa Decides Okinawa's Future." 
The Sozo posters have been hit by competing graffiti. 
Conservative graffiti, apparently benefiting from inside 
information, are stickers in an identical typeface so the 
posters read, "A Man Governor, Okinawa Decides Okinawa's 
Future."  Reformist graffiti, pink stickers that just cover the 
conservative graffiti and/or the original text, change the 
object to "Governor Keiko." 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Posters sponsored by "K no Kai" (K's Club) more 
directly endorse Itokazu, but do not show her solo.  One 
unofficial poster carrying Itokazu's name and photograph depict 
her and her husband posed as if running through a field of 
grass.  Another depicts Itokazu and reformist Okinawa City Mayor 
Mitsuko TOMON, calling for women's unity, but Itokazu's and 
Tomon's (heavily retouched) photographs were clearly taken at 
different times and assembled in a collage. 
 
Conservative Cuddly with a Mean Streak 
¶6.  (SBU) The counterpart to "K no Kai" is "N no Kai" (N's 
Club), and its posters for Nakaima generally show him with one 
or both of his adult daughters.  A journalist told us that 
initial posters showing Nakaima with just his second (and 
younger) daughter, identifying her as such, had started a 
whisper campaign.  "Old ladies" were muttering that the elder 
daughter must dislike her father, otherwise she would have been 
featured.  The campaign recently changed the posters so that the 
younger daughter is merely identified as "daughter," and added a 
poster featuring both daughters.  A poster sponsored by the 
"Prefectural Peoples' Club" features a cartoon shisa in a suit, 
smiling and punching one fist in the air.  Note: The shisa is an 
Okinawa icon, statues of which are posted on the roofs and 
gateposts of Okinawan homes for protection from evil.  End note. 
 The text reads, "Let's choose a decisive, effective, resolute 
MAN." 
 
¶7.  (C) On a darker note, two or three groups with variations on 
the name "North Korea Study Group" have sponsored a series of 
posters calling for vigilance in security matters.  The posters 
feature a red border on top saying, "Do not permit North Korean 
nuclear tests!!"  Some of the posters' slogans make sense only 
in context, such as, "Abolish the risk-Futenma within 3 Years." 
This contrasts Nakaima's promise to stop Marine Corps Air 
Station Futenma's functions within a short period of time with 
Itokazu's demand to close it immediately, something even many 
reformists consider unrealistic.  Two other slogans, "An expert 
in employment, economics and industry for governor!" and "Is 
base opposition alone enough?" contrast Nakaima's bureaucratic, 
government executive and industry experience with Itokazu's 
life-long anti-military focus. 
 
NAHA 00000238  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The most openly negative poster we have seen to date 
slaps at Itokazu, as well as fallen-away LDP (now Sozo) Diet 
Member Shimoji.  The text reads, "Chameleon contamination: Three 
flip-flops on bases and casinos."  Below the text, a cartoon 
green whale flashes a toothy grin, an allusion to Shimoji's 
smiling orange whale cartoon mascot.   Fliers published by the 
Prefectural Peoples' Club, stuffed in mail boxes with the 
November 8 morning paper, also contrast Nakaima's fortitude with 
Itokazu's public policy waffling. 
 
¶9.  (C) Most posters for Nakaima are bright yellow.  Recently 
Okinawa Defense Facilities Administration Bureau Chief Sato 
complained to Consul General Maher that he had advised Nakaima 
to drop the color, as it carried leftist connotations.  Nakaima 
did not take the advice, and we thought perhaps it was to 
identify with the Ryukyu Kingdom's golden era of independence 
and the rare yellow dye and resulting fabrics that made the 
kingdom rich.  We have since heard rumors that Nakaima consulted 
a fortune-teller who divined that yellow would be his lucky 
color for this campaign. 
 
¶10.  (C) During a November 5 gathering of television and 
newspaper journalists at the Consul General's residence, their 
consensus was that the governor's race was still entirely too 
close to call.  Perhaps whatever slight edge a lucky color 
brings is worth having.  The two major Okinawa daily newspapers 
plan to carry out large-scale opinion surveys the weekend of 
November 11-12, and the journalists themselves seemed keenly 
interested to learn the results, which will be released just six 
days before the November 19 election. 
MAHER