Incumbent Hanazumi certain to win Niigata gubernatorial election

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:42 JST, May 29, 2022

Incumbent Hideyo Hanazumi is certain to win the Niigata gubernatorial election on Sunday.

Hanazumi, 64, is an independent candidate but is supported by the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party for the People.

The election was between Hanazumi and newcomer Naomi Katagiri, 72, chairperson of a group calling for the end of nuclear power generation. She is backed by the Japanese Communist Party, the Reiwa Shinsengumi party and the Social Democratic Party. The two candidates debated such issues as the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant and the evaluation of the current prefectural administration.