ID :
174388
Sun, 04/10/2011 - 19:17
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/174388
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Tokyo Gov. Ishihara assured of his 4th term
TOKYO, April 10 Kyodo -
Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara is assured of winning his fourth four-year term as the leader of the Japanese capital, easily defeating challengers in the gubernatorial election Sunday, Kyodo News projects.
Ishihara, 78, is beating contenders including former Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru, 53, Miki Watanabe, 51, founder and former chairman of restaurant chain operator Watami Co., and Akira Koike, 50, chief policymaker of the Japanese Communist Party.
Ishihara had the upper hand during the official campaigning with the backing of the major opposition Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party. The ruling Democratic Party of Japan did not field a ticketed candidate in the 11-person race, while its metropolitan assembly members supported Watanabe.
The incumbent garnered support from voters hoping his efforts as the top leader of the Japanese capital since the March 11 quake-tsunami disaster will play a major role in dealing with the aftermath of Japan's worst postwar crisis.
Referring to the disasters, which include the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, Ishihara said he will implement necessary disaster-prevention measures in Tokyo during his new four-year term, adding he will stick to the policies he has taken for the past 12 years.
''Tokyo is the 'dynamo' of Japan, so if Tokyo is mired in confusion, the state will be also mired in confusion,'' Ishihara said at a press conference after Kyodo News and other media projected his victory based on exit polls.
He also reiterated his eagerness to provide support to the quake-hit areas, saying ''We'll do whatever we can, and we'll even do what people in the afflicted areas think Tokyo is not required to do.''
Ishihara pledged to complete his new four-year term of office, although he had earlier said he intended to retire as Tokyo governor due to his age until he changed his mind just before the start of the election campaign.
The Tokyo election had been seen as a test of Ishihara's political maneuvering during 12 years in office over matters such as financial problems at ShinGinko Tokyo, a brainchild of his, and a relocation of the Tsukiji fish market.
But such issues were upstaged by campaign talk over disaster preparedness in the capital in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated large swaths of northeastern and eastern Japan.
Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara is assured of winning his fourth four-year term as the leader of the Japanese capital, easily defeating challengers in the gubernatorial election Sunday, Kyodo News projects.
Ishihara, 78, is beating contenders including former Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru, 53, Miki Watanabe, 51, founder and former chairman of restaurant chain operator Watami Co., and Akira Koike, 50, chief policymaker of the Japanese Communist Party.
Ishihara had the upper hand during the official campaigning with the backing of the major opposition Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party. The ruling Democratic Party of Japan did not field a ticketed candidate in the 11-person race, while its metropolitan assembly members supported Watanabe.
The incumbent garnered support from voters hoping his efforts as the top leader of the Japanese capital since the March 11 quake-tsunami disaster will play a major role in dealing with the aftermath of Japan's worst postwar crisis.
Referring to the disasters, which include the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, Ishihara said he will implement necessary disaster-prevention measures in Tokyo during his new four-year term, adding he will stick to the policies he has taken for the past 12 years.
''Tokyo is the 'dynamo' of Japan, so if Tokyo is mired in confusion, the state will be also mired in confusion,'' Ishihara said at a press conference after Kyodo News and other media projected his victory based on exit polls.
He also reiterated his eagerness to provide support to the quake-hit areas, saying ''We'll do whatever we can, and we'll even do what people in the afflicted areas think Tokyo is not required to do.''
Ishihara pledged to complete his new four-year term of office, although he had earlier said he intended to retire as Tokyo governor due to his age until he changed his mind just before the start of the election campaign.
The Tokyo election had been seen as a test of Ishihara's political maneuvering during 12 years in office over matters such as financial problems at ShinGinko Tokyo, a brainchild of his, and a relocation of the Tsukiji fish market.
But such issues were upstaged by campaign talk over disaster preparedness in the capital in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated large swaths of northeastern and eastern Japan.
