Incumbent Kumamoto governor wins re-election for third term

KUMAMOTO – Kumamoto Gov. Ikuo Kabashima won re-election for a third four-year term Sunday, defeating two fresh challengers, according to a Kyodo News projection.

Kabashima, 69, was backed by the local chapters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito.

He faced challenges from Seishi Koyama, 50, a former Kumamoto mayor, and Daisuke Terauchi, 50, a lawyer backed by a civic group affiliated with a local chapter of the opposition Japanese Communist Party.

Kabashima commanded wide support from the public given his performance in his second term, during which the prefecture saw incomes from agricultural production rise and the prefecture heavily promoted through its popular Kumamon black bear mascot.

The mascot remains one of the most popular regional mascots in Japan.

• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

LATEST NATIONAL STORIES

Japanese Cabinet OKs bill to make 10-day Golden Week holiday around 2019 Imperial succession

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a bill to assign one-off holidays related to the Imperial succession next year, creating a 10-day Golden Week holiday period from late April. Once the bill clears...

U.S. tells Japan it may resume military drills with South Korea next spring: sources

The United States has told Japan it may resume large-scale joint military exercises with South Korea as early as next spring, if there continues to be no tangible progress on the denuclearization o...

Emigration — not immigration — one of top Japanese concerns amid shrinking population: Pew poll

As Japan grapples with the problem of an aging and shrinking population — and whether to allow in an influx of immigrants — a survey published Tuesday has revealed that the Japanese public is appar...