Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada announced Wednesday that she will not seek a third term but will instead team up with Lower House member Taizo Mikazuki, head of the Democratic Party of Japan's prefectural chapter, to form a local political group whose platform includes the phasing out of nuclear power.
The 42-year-old Mikazuki, a Diet member since 2003, is also expected to run as Kada's successor in the gubernatorial election scheduled for July.
Kada, 63, an expert on the ecology of Lake Biwa, was first elected governor in 2006 with support from local citizen groups and the opposition Social Democratic Party. She beat the Liberal Democratic Party- and New Komeito-backed candidate by more than 30,000 votes through promising to oppose public works projects those two parties had long supported.