National / Politics Aug 14, 2018
LDP-backed Atsushi Sakima to run in Okinawa governor's election
Abe is expected to support the Ginowan mayor in a bid to push ahead with a controversial plan to relocate a U.S. air base within the prefecture.
National / Politics Jul 10, 2016
Anti-nuclear advocate Satoshi Mitazono was elected governor of Kagoshima Prefecture on Sunday, beating incumbent Yuichiro Ito, who agreed to the resumption of reactors at a power plant in the prefecture. "I want to make Kagoshima a prefecture that takes on challenges with a positive mindset," ...
National / Politics Nov 17, 2015
Ishin no Kai-backed candidates lead in polls ahead of double Osaka election
by Eric Johnston
Four days before Sunday's Osaka gubernatorial and mayoral elections, candidates backed by Mayor Toru Hashimoto's Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) are leading candidates pushed by the established parties.
National / Politics May 13, 2015
LDP asks Emperor's surgeon to run in Saitama gubernatorial race
The Liberal Democratic Party has asked a doctor who operated on Emperor Akihito to run in the gubernatorial election in Saitama Prefecture in August, the ruling party's local chapter said Wednesday. Atsushi Amano, a 59-year-old professor at Juntendo University, declined to comment. The LDP, headed ...
National / Politics Dec 22, 2014
Miyazaki Gov. Shunji Kono was re-elected Sunday, beating a former Lower House member and another challenger. Kono, 50, ran as an independent but with recommendations from major parties, including the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito and the Democratic Party of Japan. He was challenged by former Lower ...
National / Politics Nov 16, 2014
Okinawa elects anti-U.S. base governor, in rebuke to Abe
by Eric Johnston
In an election closely followed by Tokyo and Washington, former Naha Mayor Takeshi Onaga wins Okinawa Prefecture’s gubernatorial contest.
National / Politics Aug 18, 2014
A Bank of Japan official has announced he will run in October's Fukushima gubernatorial election, at the request of the Liberal Democratic Party, in the first contest to pick the prefecture's governor since the 2011 nuclear disaster. Takeshi Hachimura, 55, who works in the central ...
National / Politics Jul 8, 2014
First Fukushima gubernatorial election since nuke crisis set for Oct. 26
The Fukushima gubernatorial election will be held Oct. 26, with official campaigning starting Oct. 9, the prefectural election board said Tuesday. It will be the first in Fukushima since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and subsequent nuclear disaster. Two-term Gov. Yuhei Sato, 66, has yet ...
National / Politics Jun 5, 2014
Naha mayor, foe of Futenma plan, to run for governor
by Eric Johnston
In a move that could further complicate efforts by the central government to move the U.S. Futenma base from Ginowan to Henoko in northern Okinawa, Naha Mayor Takeshi Onaga, 63, has suggested he will run for run for governor in November. Despite being a member ...
National May 10, 2014
Japan might move up the start date for building the replacement facility for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa to this fall instead of next spring, an official said Saturday. By advancing the date, which could allow work to begin before a potential ...
