The 2012 Tokyo gubernatorial election took place on December 16, 2012, which was held on the same day as the
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
.
Background
After long-term Governor
Shintaro Ishihara suddenly resigned to return to national politics ahead of the
then-looming next general election.
[ The Japan Timesbr>Former head lawyer to run for Tokyo governor November 10, 2012]
/ref> A field of nine candidates emerged, with the front-runner being Naoki Inose, who had been vice-governor under Ishihara from 2007 to 2012, and then acting governor after Ishihara's abrupt resignation. Inose vowed to follow Ishihara's policies.
Candidates
* Mac Akasaka (real name: Makoto Tonami) - Therapist, activist, perennial candidate. Founder and leader of the Smile Party.
* Masaichi Igarashi - Member of the board of directors of an international exchange body.
* Naoki Inose - Journalist, historian, social critic. Then vice-governor of Tokyo and acting governor.
* Shigefumi Matsuzawa - Former governor of Kanagawa Prefecture.
* Yoshiro Nakamatsu
, also known as , is a Japanese inventor. He regularly appears on Japanese talk shows demonstrating his inventions.
Nakamatsu creativity process
In interviews, Nakamatsu has described his "creativity process", which includes listening to music an ...
(Dr. NakaMats)- Inventor, perennial candidate.[ The Japan Timesbr>Campaign begins to succeed Ishihara]
/ref>
* Takashi Sasagawa
is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives of Japan, House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan, Diet (national legislature). A native of Bunkyō, Tokyo ...
- Former LDP General Council Chairman.
* Tokuma Suginomori (TOKMA) - Rock musician. Director of the Happiness Realization Party's youth division.
* Kenji Utsunomiya
is a Japanese lawyer and former chair of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.
Overviews
He spent much of his career helping debtors overcome the burden of multiple loans. He was the head of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations from 20 ...
- Lawyer. Former head of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations from 2010 to 2012.
Campaign
Information campaign for the polls was administered by the Tokyo Metropolitan Election Administration Commission. AKB48's Minami Takahashi, Tomomi Itano and Yui Yokoyama (also of NMB48) were appointed as image characters.
Result
The result was a landslide victory for Inose, who received 4,338,936 votes, setting a new record for the total number of votes in a Tokyo gubernatorial election. The previous record was 3.61 million cast for the socialist Governor Ryokichi Minobe in 1971.[ The Japan Timesbr>Inose wins landslide victory in Tokyo December 18, 2012]
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tokyo Gubernatorial Election, 2012
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
December 2012 events in Japan
2012 in Tokyo
2012 elections in Japan