Incumbent Gov. Shingo Mimura and two challengers filed their candidacies Thursday for the June 3 Aomori gubernatorial race, the local election board said.
Backed by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, Mimura, 51, is seeking his second four-year term. He is being challenged by Yukimitsu Hori, 59, head of the prefectural chapter of the Japanese Communist Party, and independent Michiko Nishiya, 46, the head of a civic group opposed to plans to open a nuclear reprocessing plant in Rokkasho.
The Democratic Party of Japan, the main opposition party, declined to field a candidate.