Shintaro Ishihara officially stepped down Wednesday as governor of Tokyo after the metropolitan assembly accepted his letter of resignation and ended his 13½ years in the office.
Vice Gov. Naoki Inose will take over as acting governor starting Thursday. The campaign to find Ishihara's replacement will start Nov. 29 and the election will be held Dec. 16.
Ishihara, 80, is expected to launch a new political party along with members of Tachiagare Nippon (Sunrise Party of Japan).