Tuesday, March 16, 2010

KANAZAWA, Ishikawa Pref. (Kyodo) Incumbent Masanori Tanimoto, backed by various political parties for his experience in local politics, defeated by a wide margin three rookie candidates in the Ishikawa gubernatorial election Sunday.

Encore: Incumbent Ishikawa Gov. Masanori Tanimoto celebrates his election victory Sunday at his office in Kanazawa. KYODO PHOTO

Tanimoto was backed by both the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Democratic Party, the main opposition force.

Tanimoto, 64, received 296,628 votes, according to the local election management committee, beating former DPJ lawmaker Yutaka Kuwabara, 64, who received 105,166 votes, and two others. Voter turnout was 48.13 percent, the lowest on record.

Tanimoto was elected to his fifth four-year term, making him the longest-serving incumbent prefectural governor, along with Ibaraki Gov. Masaru Hashimoto.

During the election campaign, Tanimoto faced criticism for remaining in office too long, but stressed his success in developing airport and railway infrastructure in the prefecture.

During his campaign, Tanimoto emphasized his efforts to bring the shinkansen to the Hokuriku region. Construction is under way on a Kanazawa shinkansen station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line, although it is unclear when it will open.

Tanimoto also highlighted his efforts to help small companies.

While all four candidates ran as independents, Tanimoto received endorsements from the Social Democratic Party and New Komeito.

The two other candidates were Yoshinobu Kimura, 58, who was supported by the Japanese Communist Party, and Teruo Yonemura, 70.

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