Yokohama Mayor Hayashi wins third term

July 31, 2017

YOKOHAMA- Yokohama Mayor Fumiko Hayashi won a third four-year term in Sunday's election, a result that reassured Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which fared poorly in two successive major local elections held recently. Hayashi, who ran in the mayoral election as an independent, was backed by the LDP and its coalition partner, Komeito. The LDP suffered a historic defeat in the July 2 Tokyo metropolitan assembly election, while a candidate supported by the LDP and Komeito lost to an opposition-backed rival in the July 23 mayoral election in Sendai, the capital of the northeastern prefecture of Miyagi. In the election in Yokohama , the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture , south of Tokyo , Hayashi, 71, defeated her two competitors, both independents as well. They were Kazuyoshi Nagashima, 50, a former lawmaker of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan 's parliament, and Hirotaka Ito, 39, a former member of the Yokohama municipal assembly. Hayashi collected 598,115 votes, against 269,897 votes for Nagashima and 257,665 votes for Ito. Voter turnout came to 37.21 pct, up from the record low of 29.05 pct in the previous Yokohama mayoral election in August 2013. During her campaign, Hayashi emphasized her achievements during her past two terms, including the promotion of measures to reduce the number of children waiting to enter nurseries and encourage large companies to launch business footholds in her city. Hayashi attracted support from a wide range of voters on the back of her high name recognition. Hayashi previously supported the idea of an integrated resort including a casino being opened in Yokohama . Currently, however, she is refraining from showing a clear stance on the matter. Nagashima and Ito both voiced opposition to the city having a casino. Ito stressed the need to introduce school lunch to all city-run junior high schools. In the past two Yokohama mayoral elections, the largest opposition Democratic Party supported Hayashi. This time, the DP allowed party members to make their own choices because some called for support for Ito, who was from the party, and no consensus was reached as a result. Hayashi won her first term as Yokohama mayor in the August 2009 election, after serving as chairman of supermarket operator Daiei Inc. and president of Tokyo Nissan Auto Sales Co. Jiji Press