With Typhoon Trami predicted to pass over Okinawa Prefecture this weekend, candidates for Sunday's gubernatorial election are making efforts to get voters to the polls early out of concern over the effect the storm could have on the final result.
As of Wednesday morning, the typhoon was forecast to pass over the smaller islands of southern Okinawa Prefecture early Saturday morning before turning northeast and passing over the main island on Sunday.
Because of the predicted path of the storm, the Okinawa Election Commission has announced that Taketomi, a small town of about 4,100 people in the prefecture's southern island chain, and Tsukenjima, a small island inhabited by about 430 off the central part of the main island, will go to the polls on Thursday.