35-Year-Old Independent Elected Fukui Governor for 1st Time

Fukui, Jan. 26 (Jiji Press)--A 35-year-old independent candidate has been elected governor of Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, after his predecessor resigned for sexual harassment against prefectural government workers.

Takato Ishida, a former official at Japan's Foreign Ministry, won his first term in Sunday's Fukui gubernatorial election, becoming the youngest incumbent prefectural governor in the country.

Ishida defeated his two rival candidates--Kenichi Yamada, a 67-year-old independent and former mayor of the Fukui city of Echizen, and Yukie Kanemoto, 67, an official at the Japanese Communist Party's Fukui prefectural branch.

In the election, the Liberal Democratic Party, the ruling force in national politics, was split, with members in the Fukui prefectural assembly supporting Yamada and members in the municipal assembly of the city of Fukui, the capital of the prefecture, backing Ishida.

Ishida collected 134,620 votes, narrowly beating Yamada, who received 130,290 votes. Votes for Kanemoto totaled 15,735.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]