Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba and Aichi Gov. Masaaki Kanda sailed to re-election Sunday, while former Kofu Mayor Takahiro Yamamoto won a narrow victory in the Yamanashi gubernatorial race.
Yamamoto's self-proclaimed successor, meanwhile, managed to win the mayoral election in Kofu.
Sunday's elections in these prefectures and cities and elsewhere around Japan were widely viewed as a forerunner to nationwide local elections in April.