Nagano voters on Sunday chose a steady and stable style of politics over maverick leadership often characterized by theatrics, confrontation and confusion. Gov. Yasuo Tanaka, a reform-minded ex-novelist, sought a third term but was defeated by Mr. Jin Murai, a former state minister for national disaster prevention in the first Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Mr. Murai's margin of victory was fairly wide at 78,000 votes, but this does not mean Nagano voters have lost interest in the reform of prefectural politics. Gov. Tanaka's years of reform have heightened their political consciousness. They will be carefully watching what policies the new governor chooses to pursue.
Mr. Tanaka, who took office in October 2000, aimed to tear down the politics of vested interests and politics dictated by the Nagano prefectural government bureaucracy. Lacking organization-based support, he relied on voluntary campaigning by independent voters. To bring politics closer to the people, he repeatedly held discussion meetings with local residents. In a symbolic move, he went as far as to have glass walls installed in his office so his constituents could watch him work. In his latest election campaign, Mr. Tanaka boasted that his six years of governorship have led Nagano residents to freely express their opinions on prefectural politics.
He put forth one attention-getting policy after another: halting construction of dams, abolishing a reporters' club at the prefectural government, pushing a policy that would limit class sizes to 30 students, and setting up nursing-care centers. He also advocated financial reconstruction and succeeded in reducing the amount of outstanding prefectural government bonds for five consecutive years, making Nagano the only prefecture to do so.