The 2018 Niigata gubernatorial election was held on 10 June 2018 to elect the next governor of
Niigata. Incumbent Governor
Ryuichi Yoneyama resigned on 18 April 2018 in the wake of a sex scandal.
This was also the first gubernatorial election in Niigata since the voting age was lowered to 18.
The election was initially expected to be a de facto referendum on the
anti-nuclear policies pursued by Gov. Yoneyama, particularly his opposition to the restart of the
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Central Niigata.
Both the pro-nuclear and the anti-nuclear camps are coalescing towards one candidate to represent each camp. The pro-nuclear camp will be represented by Hideyo Hanazumi, who is endorsed by the governing
LDP and
Komeito.
Anti-nuclear Chikako Ikeda will be the opposition's unity candidate in the election.
In contrary to the policy of the parties that endorsed him, Hanazumi followed the opposition's line on nuclear energy, not unlike the one held by the incumbent governor.
Hanazumi won the gubernatorial election by a narrow 3.4% margin. He vowed to continue Governor Yoneyama's approach on the issue of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant restart and related safety evaluations. In his victory speech, he also mentioned the possibility of resigning and holding another election mid-term to ask the populace whether the reactor should be restarted or not.
Candidates
Running
*
Hideyo Hanazumi, former Deputy Governor of Niigata (2013–2015).
(endorsed by
LDP and
Komeito)
*Chikako Ikeda, member of the
Niigata Prefectural Assembly (2015–present).
(endorsed by
CDP,
DPFP,
JCP JCP may refer to:
*Java Community Process, a method of handling software requests
* J. C. Penney, a United States department store chain
*Jenny Craig Pavilion, an arena at the University of San Diego
*Jim Crockett Promotions, a former professional ...
,
SDP and
LP)
*Satoshi Annaka, former member of the
Gosen municipal assembly and independent candidate for the
Niigata at-large district The is a constituency that represents Niigata Prefecture in the House of Councillors in the Diet of Japan. Since July 2019, it has two Councillors in the 242-member house, a decrease from its previous contingent of 3.
Outline
The constituency repr ...
in the
2010 House of Councillors election.
Declined
*
Makiko Kikuta, member of the
House of Representatives (2003–present).
*Shigeaki Koga, former
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry bureaucrat and prominent
Abe
Abe or ABE may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Shinzo Abe (1954–2022), former Prime Minister of Japan
* Abe (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname
* Abe (surname), a list of people a ...
administration critic.
*Etsuko Odaira, former mayor of
Uonuma (2008–2016) and candidate for the
Niigata 5th district in the
2017 general election
This national electoral calendar for 2017 lists the national/federal elections held in 2017 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*5 November ...
.
*Isato Kunisada, mayor of
Sanjō and former
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications bureaucrat.
Campaign
Results
Breakdown
References
External links
Official websites
Hideyo HanazumiChikako IkedaSatoshi Annaka
2018 elections in Japan
Gubernatorial elections in Japan
June 2018 events in Japan
Politics of Niigata Prefecture
Niigata gubernatorial elections
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