Opposition-backed Tokushima Gov. Tadashi Ota was greeted by cheers from supporters Tuesday when he turned up for work at the prefectural office building.
Ota, 58, who was elected April 28, arrived at the Tokushima Prefectural Government headquarters at around 9:30 a.m.
Backed by three opposition parties -- the Democratic Party of Japan, the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party -- Ota defeated a candidate who had the supported of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
The election was called after the arrest of Gov. Toshio Endo on suspicion of bribery in March.
Ota, a former prefectural assembly member, received a bouquet of flowers from an employee of the prefectural government office, as some 100 supporters chanted his name.
Ota shook hands with the supporters before entering the building.
Only about 20 prefectural government employees waited outside the building for the new governor's arrival, reflecting Ota's request that employees carry on work as usual.
Ota, who during his campaign pledged to bring the administration closer to the people, arrived in a white hybrid car owned by the prefectural government, shunning the usual black limousine favored by his predecessors.