On the tip of Cape Busena on the coast of western Nago, northern Okinawa, stands the $27 million Bankoku Shinryokan convention center, the venue for the just-ended Group of Eight summit.

Near the Henoko fishing port on the eastern coast of Nago, meanwhile, there is a small prefab house where local residents — many of them elderly — are staying to protest the planned construction of an offshore U.S. military heliport.

They represent the two faces of Okinawa — the subtropical resort island seeking to boost its international profile through the summit, and the island suffering the burden of hosting the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan.

Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine said he was pleased to have the chance to introduce Okinawan culture, art and products to the leaders of Japan's G8 partners, and therefore, to the world.