Incumbent Yokohama Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka won a second four-year term as head of the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture in Sunday's mayoral election.
The 52-year-old independent candidate defeated his five rivals, including author and former Nagano Gov. Yasuo Tanaka, 69, businessman Atsushi Fukuyama, 36, and former Yokohama assembly member Norimi Takahashi, 56.
Yamanaka had support from the Liberal Democratic Party's Yokohama chapter, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's prefectural body and Komeito's organization in the city. He pledged to enhance child-rearing support for households and strengthen disaster reduction measures.
Also on Sunday, Miyagi Prefecture's capital of Sendai held a mayoral election, in which incumbent Mayor Kazuko Kori, 68, won a third term by defeating three other candidates.
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