Former Deputy Wakayama Gov. Izumi Miyazaki won Sunday's gubernatorial election in the prefecture, defeating his rival, Michiko Matsuzaka.
Miyazaki, 66, was elected Wakayama governor for the first time, succeeding Shuhei Kishimoto, who died in April at the age of 68.
Running as an independent candidate, Miyazaki was backed by the Liberal Democratic Party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Democratic Party for the People and Komeito. He garnered 250,454 votes, trouncing Matsuzaka, a 68-year-old candidate of the Japanese Communist Party, who collected 47,215 votes.
Voter turnout stood at 39.86%, the same as in the previous Wakayama gubernatorial election in 2022.
Miyazaki received endorsements from various organizations as well as ruling and opposition parties. During his campaigning, he pledged to uphold the prefectural administration promoted by the late former governor. He also touted his administrative experience as a former prefectural government official and appealed for the expansion of child care support measures and disaster prevention and mitigation measures, garnering broad support.
Matsuzaka had advocated a prefectural government that would help improve people's lives by raising the minimum wage and reducing consumption tax, but failed to attract enough votes.
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