Hanazumi Wins 3rd Term as Niigata Governor

Niigata, May 31 (Jiji Press)--Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi won his third four-year term in Sunday's gubernatorial election in the central Japan prefecture.

The 68-year-old governor was backed by Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the prefectural chapter of the LDP's coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, as well as the prefectural branches of the Democratic Party for the People and Komeito in the opposition camp.

Hanazumi, a native of the city of Sado in Niigata, defeated his two rivals--former Niigata prefectural assembly member Ryugo Tsuchida, 38, and Satoshi Annaka, 48, a former member of the municipal assembly of the Niigata city of Gosen. Tsuchida and Annaka also ran as independent candidates.

Hanazumi garnered 554,012 votes, against 230,721 votes for Tsuchida and 43,089 votes for Annaka. Voter turnout stood at 47.40 pct, down slightly from 49.64 pct in the previous Niigata gubernatorial election in 2022.

In his election campaign, Hanazumi emphasized his achievements during his past two terms totaling eight years, such as administrative and fiscal reforms in the prefectural government and the registration of the gold mines on Sado Island in the prefecture as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2024.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]