Akita Gov. Norihisa Satake was re-elected Sunday, beating two challengers.
Satake, a 69-year-old former mayor of the city of Akita, is an independent who was backed in the election by Komeito, the Liberal Democratic Party's local chapter and the Social Democratic Party.
The campaign was dominated by issues related to the declining population and how to revitalize the prefecture's economy.
The other candidates were independent Sukeshiro Terata, 76, a former Akita governor and member of the Upper House, and Umeyoshi Yamauchi, 69, a former prefectural assembly member who ran on the Japanese Communist Party ticket.
Satake garnered 335,795 votes, compared with Terata's 123,868 and Yamauchi's 35,382.
Voter turnout was 51.77 percent, up 2.62 points from the previous election.
