Elections

Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura Wins 4th Term

Pool photo / The Yomiuri Shimbun
Aichi Govenor Hideaki Omura, left, cerebrates his reelection in Nagoya on Sunday.

Jiji Press

13:46 JST, February 6, 2023

NAGOYA (Jiji Press) — Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura, 62, won a fourth term in Sunday’s gubernatorial election in the central Japan prefecture of Aichi.

Omura, an independent, defeated five rivals including political organization leader Keiko Ogata, 65, thanks to support from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Komeito, the Democratic Party for the People and the Aichi chapter of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Omura won 1.45 million votes, against over 250,000 votes earned by Ogata, who was backed by the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party. The remaining four candidates garnered fewer votes.

Voter turnout rose to 36.43% from 35.51% in the previous election in 2019.

In his campaign, Omura stressed his achievements during his past three four-year terms, including improvements in the welfare service and the establishment of Ghibli Park in the 2005 World Exposition commemorative park in Nagakute.

He also promised to promote local business and work to advance the project to build the Chuo Shinkansen magnetic levitation train line, which is set to open first between Tokyo and Nagoya, Aichi’s capital.

Meanwhile, Ogata underscored her opposition to the maglev train project and vowed to implement prefectural government reform and decarbonization measures.