Voting opened in Okinawa with six candidates contesting economy and Futenma relocation, the sole story carried across outlets in the morning.
By midday attention briefly shifted to Chubu Electric, where NHK, TBS and Nikkei reported president Hayashi and chairman Katsuno would resign over falsified data in the Hamaoka restart screening, with a successor named. Personnel moves under Prime Minister Takaichi, naming Hideki Murai as LDP Diet affairs chief, drew parallel notice.
From 8 p.m. coverage converged entirely on the count: newcomer Genta Koja, 42, backed by the ruling camp and accepting the Henoko relocation, defeated three-term incumbent Denny Tamaki. Outlets stressed the end of 12 years of anti-base prefectural government, Koja as the first post-reversion-born governor, and exit polls showing economy outweighing bases, followed by Tamaki's concession and analyses of voter demand for renewal.