Gubernatorial elections in Japan 2013

In 2013, gubernatorial elections were held in nine prefectures in Japan . With Chiba, Hyogo and Shizuoka, three of the ten most populous prefectures elected their governors. Five of the governors up for re-election applied for a second term, so they were elected for the first time in 2009. In two elections there was only one candidate and there was no vote.

Note: Most candidates run as non-party in gubernatorial elections; therefore the party affiliations are not listed separately in the election results and only the recommendations and support formally expressed by the parties are listed. In the following, no distinction is made between support for national parties and prefectural associations.

January 27th

The elections in Yamagata and Gifu were scheduled for January 27th . However, the election in Yamagata remained without a vote due to the lack of opposing candidates.

Yamagata

At the beginning of the election campaign on January 10th, no candidate other than Governor Mieko Yoshimura had registered in Yamagata , so she was re-elected for a second term without a vote. In Yamagata it is the first re-election without a vote since 1959, when Tōkichi Abiko ran for his second term; Nationwide, Masanao Ozaki was last confirmed as governor of Kōchi without a vote in office in November 2011 .

Gifu

In Gifu, Governor Hajime Furuta's only challenger was Masanori Suzuki, a member of the CPJ's prefectural board . Furuta's re-election was supported by the LDP , DP and Kōmeitō .

Result of the Gifu gubernatorial election

candidate	Support parties				be right	proportion of
Hajime Furuta				LDP , DP , Kōmeitō	474.731	85.0%
Masanori Suzuki				KPJ	83,859	15.0%
total					558,590	100.0%
invalid votes etc.
voter turnout						33.92%

March 17th: Chiba

Kensaku Morita (63), governor of Chiba , applied for a second term with support from the center-right parties ( LDP , Ishin , Kōmeitō , Minna ). Opposing candidates were the former professor Sadanobu Miwa (75), who enjoyed the support of the CPY, and the self-employed Yūsuke Satō (31). The Democratic Party waived its own election recommendation. The official election campaign started on February 28th.

The turnout fell from over 45% in 2009 to below 32%. Morita won by more than three-quarters of the vote.

Result of the Chiba gubernatorial election

candidate	Support parties					be right	proportion of
Kensaku Morita (Eiji Suzuki)					LDP , Kōmeitō , Minna , Ishin	1,230,137	78.5%
Sadanobu Miwa					KPJ	288,762	18.4%
Yūsuke Satō					-	47,559	3.0%
total						1,566,458	100.0%
invalid votes etc.						29,586	1.85%
voter turnout						1,596,044	31.96%

April 7: Akita

For the official announcement on March 21, the only candidate announced in the Akita election was Governor Norihisa Satake , who was thus the winner without a vote. In Akita it was the first gubernatorial election without a vote.

June 16: Shizuoka

The Shizuoka gubernatorial election took place on June 16, and four by-elections to the prefectural parliament were held at the same time. The governor's election campaign began on May 30th. In addition to Governor Heita Kawakatsu , Ichirō Hirose, former professor at Tama University, and Yukihiro Shimazu, former vice-chairman of the CPY prefecture association, ran for candidates. The LDP supported Hirose, the Kōmeitō gave no election recommendation. The election campaign topics included earthquake and tsunami protection - especially before the next Tōkai earthquake , which is expected to occur off the coast of the prefecture -, the Hamaoka nuclear power plant , the economic and employment situation and the ongoing application to make Fuji a UNESCO Declare world heritage.

With voter turnout down by more than eleven points, Governor Kawakatsu prevailed for another term with over 70% of the vote.

The result of the Shizuoka gubernatorial election

candidate	Support parties		be right	proportion of
Heita Kawakatsu		-	1,080,609	72.6%
Ichirō Hirose		LDP	345,617	23.2%
Yukihiro Shimazu		KPJ	61,980	4.2%
total			1,488,206	100.0%
invalid votes etc.			9,863	0.66%
voter turnout			1,498,069	49.49%

July 21: Hyogo

In Hyogo , the 2013 gubernatorial election took place on July 21, the date of the 2013 Sangiin election . At the same time, a by-election to the prefectural parliament took place in Kobe's Tarumi district. Most recently, the gubernatorial election and the Sangiin election coincided in 2001, when Toshizō Ido was elected governor for the first time. Governor Ido's only opposing candidate was the CPJ-supported association functionary Kōtarō Tanaka, who had been Ido's only challenger in 2009. With a turnout of over 50%, Ido was clearly confirmed in office.

Result of the gubernatorial election in Hyogo

candidate	Support parties			be right	proportion of
Toshizō Ido			Kōmeitō , SDP	1,684,146	72.8%
Kōtaro Tanaka			KPJ	627.874	27.2%
total				2,312,020	100.0%
invalid votes etc.				94.176	3.91%
voter turnout				2,406,196	53.47%

September 8: Ibaraki

In Ibaraki , Governor Masaru Hashimoto , who has been in office since 1993 and is currently the longest-serving governor in the country, was re-elected for a sixth term.

Result of the gubernatorial election in Ibaraki

candidate	Support parties		be right	proportion of
Masaru Hashimoto			489.832	65.5%
Shigehiro Tanaka		KPJ	257.625	34.5%
total			747.457	100.0%
invalid votes etc.			14,279	1.87%
voter turnout			761.736	31.74%

October 27th: Miyagi

In Miyagi incumbent Yoshihiro Murai won against the CPJ-backed lawyer Masaaki Sato.

Miyagi gubernatorial result

candidate	Support parties		be right	proportion of
Yoshihiro Murai			591.265	86.4%
Masaaki Satō		KPJ	92,790	13.6%
total			684.055	100.0%
invalid votes etc.			5,219	0.76%
voter turnout			689.274	36.58%

November 10: Hiroshima

Hidehiko Yuzaki , governor of Hiroshima , was confirmed in office with the support of the major parties against the communist Osamu Ōnishi.

Result of the gubernatorial election in Hiroshima

candidate	Support parties				be right	proportion of
Hidehiko Yuzaki				LDP , DP , Kōmeitō	646.316	88.9%
Osamu Ōnishi				KPJ	81.141	11.2%
total					727.457	100.0%
invalid votes etc.					7,800	1.06%
voter turnout					735.257	31.97%

Web links

• 都 道 府 県 選 挙 管理 委員会 連 合 会 ( to-dō-fu-ken bekyo kanri iinkai rengōkai , "Association of Prefectural Election Oversight Commissions ")
• Sōmushō : gubernatorial election results (Japanese)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 山形 知事 、 吉 村 氏 再 選 ５９ 年 以来 の 無 投票 . (No longer available online.) In: Kahoku Shimpō . January 11, 2013, formerly in the original ; Retrieved January 11, 2013 (Japanese).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
2. ↑ ２ 氏 が 届 け 出 ＝ 岐阜 知事 選 . (No longer available online.) In: The Wall Street Journal . January 10, 2013, formerly in the original ; Retrieved January 11, 2013 (Japanese).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
3. ↑ 岐阜 県 知事 選 、 古 田氏 が ３ 選 . In: Yomiuri Shimbun Online. January 28, 2013, archived from the original on February 8, 2013 ; Retrieved March 4, 2013 (Japanese). 
4. ↑ 千葉 県 知事 選 告示 、 現 職 と ２ 新人 が 届 け 出 . In: Yomiuri Shimbun Online. February 28, 2013, archived from the original on March 5, 2013 ; Retrieved March 4, 2013 (Japanese). 
5. ↑ 千葉 県 知事 選 、 森 田氏 が 再 選 . In: Asahi Shimbun Digital. March 17, 2013, Retrieved March 17, 2013 (Japanese). 
6. ↑ Chiba Prefectural Election Oversight Commission : 平 成 25 年 3 月 17 日 執行 千葉 県 知事 選 挙
7. ↑ 佐 竹 氏 が 無 投票 再 選 ＝ １ 月 の 山形 以来 - 秋田 知事 選 . (No longer available online.) In: The Wall Street Journal . March 23, 2013, formerly in the original ; Retrieved April 7, 2013 (Japanese).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
8. ↑ Shizuoka Prefectural Election Oversight Commission: Schedule for the gubernatorial election ( Memento of the original from December 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
9. ↑ ２０１３ 知事 選 共産 、 島 津 氏 が 出馬 表明 静岡 . (No longer available online.) In: MSN / Sankei News. May 15, 2013, archived from the original on May 21, 2013 ; Retrieved May 19, 2013 (Japanese). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
10. ↑ Chūnichi Shimbun , Gubernatorial election in Shizuoka 2013 , May 19, 2013: 公 明 が 自主 へ M ( Memento of the original from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on May 19, 2013). 
11. ↑ Chūnichi Shimbun, May 19, 2013: 静岡 選 択 の 時 立 候補 予 定 者 座談会 詳 報 ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on May 19, 2013). 
12. ↑ Shizuoka Prefectural Election Oversight Commission: 2013 Gubernatorial Election
13. ↑ Hyōgo Prefectural Election Oversight Commission: Schedule for the gubernatorial election and the by-election to the prefectural parliament
14. ↑ Hyōgo Prefectural Election Oversight Commission : 第 23 回 参議院 議員 通常 選 挙 、 兵 庫 県 知事 選 挙 及 び 兵 庫 県 議会 議会 補 欠 欠 選 挙 の 投 開票 結果
15. ↑ Ibaraki Prefectural Election Oversight Commission : 茨城 県 知事 選 挙 ・ 茨城 県 議会 議員 補 欠 選 挙 (古河 市 ・ 取 手 市 ・ 筑 西 市 選 挙 区) 投 開票 速 報 ( Memento des Originals from October 13, 2013 in the Internet link was automatically inserted ) Info: The archive not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
16. ↑ Miyagi Prefectural Election Oversight Commission : 平 成 ２５ 年 １０ 月 ２７ 日 執行 宮城 県 知事 選 挙 ・ 結果 ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
17. ↑ Hiroshima Prefecture Electoral Supervision Commission : 広 島 県 知事 選 挙 及 び 広 島 県 議会 議員 補 欠 選 挙 投 開票 速 報 ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.