Ex-Yokohama Mayor Yamanaka to Run for Comeback

Yokohama, Sept. 27 (Jiji Press)--Former Yokohama Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka, who resigned earlier in September over a harassment scandal, plans to run for re-election, sources said Sunday.

Yamanaka, 54, is expected to announce his candidacy at a press conference as early as Monday. The mayoral election in the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture, which neighbors Tokyo, is set to take place Oct. 18.

So far, five people have declared their candidacies-- lawyer Atsumi Harasawa, 59, company manager Atsushi Fukuyama, 37, former lawmaker Kazuma Nakatani, 43, Yuka Asaka, 46, deputy leader of the Japanese Communist Party's Kanagawa branch, and civic group representative Sachiko Fujikawa, 51.

Harasawa is backed by the Liberal Democratic Party's municipal chapter and the Democratic Party for the People's prefectural chapter, while Nakatani has support from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's prefectural chapter. Yamanaka's candidacy is expected to make the race highly competitive.

Yamanaka resigned after a senior city official accused him of workplace harassment. An investigation by a third-party team recognized seven instances of inappropriate behavior, including remarks characterizing subordinates as incompetent and human trash.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]