For years, Japan has tried to get Okinawans to agree to a big new seaside base for American Marines to replace an old one in a crowded urban area. The national government has tried carrots, like supporting construction of a Disney resort on the island; it has tried sticks, going to court to overrule local resistance to the base; it has thrown its weight behind candidates who favor the new base. But again and again, Okinawans have responded that they don’t want the new base. They believe they’re already carrying far more than their share of the American military.

The message sounded with special clarity when Denny Tamaki was elected governor on Sunday. Like most other elections on the island, this one was at least partly a referendum on the American bases. Mr. Tamaki represented an anti-base coalition; his pro-base opponent was heavily supported by Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party. What made the choice especially noteworthy is that Mr. Tamaki, 58, is the son of a Japanese mother and an American Marine father, who left the island before he was born.