Nishiwaki Re-Elected Governor of Kyoto Pref.

Kyoto, April 10 (Jiji Press)--Takatoshi Nishiwaki, governor of Kyoto Prefecture, western Japan, won a second four-year term in a gubernatorial election Sunday.

Nishiwaki, 66, collected 505,651 votes, against 251,261 votes for his sole competitor, Ken Kajikawa, 62, head of a labor organization. Voter turnout came to 37.58 pct, up from 35.17 pct in the previous Kyoto gubernatorial election in April 2018.

Nishiwaki, who ran in the election as an independent candidate, was supported by Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, as well as the leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Democratic Party for the People, also an opposition party.

Kajikawa, also an independent, was backed by the Japanese Communist Party.

Nishiwaki drew support from a wide range of voters by underscoring risk management measures he took during his first term, including those for the fight against COVID-19, and vowing to improve the environment for raising children.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]