
Kyoko Morisawa is seen after a rerun of the Shinagawa Ward mayoral election on Sunday.
15:54 JST, December 5, 2022
Former Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member Kyoko Morisawa won a rerun of the Shinagawa Ward mayoral election on Sunday.
It was the nation’s seventh case of a rerun to elect a local government head after all candidates failed to garner the minimum required number of ballots: one-fourth of the total number of valid votes cast, as stipulated in the Public Offices Election Law.
The Shinagawa election was contested by six newcomers as the incumbent did not run for reelection. However, in the initial election, held Oct. 2, no candidate reached the minimum ballot count.
In Sunday’s rerun, Morisawa, a never-before-elected independent candidate, defeated the five other candidates, including Hideo Ishida, a 63-year-old former Shinagawa Ward assembly member backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Voter turnout was 32.44%, down from 35.22% for the first election.
In the initial round, Morisawa, 44, earned 27,759 votes — the most among the candidates — but 590 short of the minimum required.
The rerun campaign kicked off on Nov. 27 with the potential to spill over into a Japan-first third election to choose a local government head. However, Morisawa earned more than 40,000 votes, enough to install her as new mayor.
"Politics" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Japan to Offer U.S. Proposals for Cooperation on Rare Earths, Semiconductors; Potential Measures Could Help Counter China, Correct Trade Deficit
-
Japan Govt to Create Guidelines for Data Leak Prevention at Research Institutes; AI R&D, Risk Management to Be Balanced
-
Japan Coast Guard Begins Employment Scheme for Retiring MSDF Personnel; Aims for 15 Recruits in FY25
-
U.S. Senator and Ex-Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty: Economic Security, National Security Are Tied
-
Govt Sets 2025 Intellectual Property Strategy; Aims to Maximize Japan’s Capital Such as Anime, Manga, Games
JN ACCESS RANKING
-
Visitors to Japan Hit Single-Month Record High in April
-
Aichi Rice Production Under Siege from Warming Climate; Record Heat Stunts Crop Growth, Causes Greater Pest Activity
-
Japanese Researchers Develop ‘Transparent Paper’ as Alternative to Plastics; New Material Is Biodegradable, Can Be Produced with Low Carbon Emissions
-
Japan’s Core Inflation Hits More than 2-year High, Could Force Year-End BOJ Hike
-
Japan’s Maglev Shinkansen’s Partially Completed Station Unveiled; Station Will Be Only Underground Stop Between Shinagawa, Nagoya