2016 Tokyo gubernatorial election

The 2016 Tokyo gubernatorial election took place on 31 July 2016 to elect the successor to Governor Yoichi Masuzoe, who submitted his resignation to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on 15 June 2016.[1] By-elections in four of Tokyo's cities were held on the same day to fill vacancies in the Assembly.

2016 Tokyo gubernatorial election

31 July 2016
Turnout6,620,407 (59.73%)
 
Candidate Yuriko Koike Hiroya Masuda Shuntaro Torigoe
Party Independent Independent Independent
Popular vote 2,912,628 1,793,453 1,346,103
Percentage 44.49% 27.4% 20.56%
Supported by LDP, K, PJK DP, JCP, SDP, PLP, TSN

Election results by municipality. Koike (green) swept all main island municipalities except Hinohara village, she won her largest margin in Toshima ward in her former lower house district, Masuda (red) only carried Hinohara and a few towns and villages on the Izu islands.

Governor before election

Yoichi Masuzoe
Independent

Elected Governor

Yuriko Koike
Independent

Former Defense Minister Yuriko Koike won the election by a wide margin. Turnout increased sharply to 59% from 46% in the previous election.[2]

Background

Yoichi Masuzoe, a former national Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare, was elected in the February 2014 election. At the election he was endorsed by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito and received more than 2.11 million votes,[1] more than double his nearest opponent in the seven-candidate race. He replaced Naoki Inose, who had resigned in the second year of his four-year term due to a political funds scandal.

In May 2016 reports surfaced concerning Masuzoe's misuse of public funds, including the use of his chauffeur-driven government car to travel to and from his holiday house on most weekends. As examination into his spending continued, it was found that he had misused funds to purchase items for personal use, including art, comics, and meals, as well as paying for his family to stay in hotels that were accounted as meeting-related expenses. An independent investigation ultimately determined that he had acted inappropriately but not illegally. Despite this, surveys showed that more than 90% of Tokyo residents were dissatisfied with how he handled the issue and the lack of a clear explanation.

As pressure grew on Masuzoe to resign, a no-confidence motion jointly submitted by all of the parties represented in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly was to be put to a vote on the afternoon of 15 June. As the motion was likely to pass and wanting to avoid further disruption to the governing of the city, Masuzoe submitted his resignation to assembly President Shigeo Kawai on the morning of the 15th, to become effective as of 21 June.[1]

Candidates

A total of 21 candidates were nominated for the election.[3] Yuriko Koike, a former Minister of Defence and incumbent member for the Tokyo 10th district in the House of Representatives, announced her candidacy despite not receiving an endorsement from the Liberal Democratic Party.[3] Instead, the LDP (along with Komeito and the Party for Japanese Kokoro) endorsed Hiroya Masuda, who is a former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications and former governor of Iwate Prefecture.[3][4] Actor Junichi Ishida was approached by the Democratic Party but ultimately declined to run.[4] Ultimately, the Democratic Party and other opposition parties (including the Communist and Social Democratic parties) endorsed veteran journalist Shuntaro Torigoe.[3] Kenji Utsunomiya, former head of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations and a candidate in the two previous gubernatorial elections, announced his intention to run on 11 July but withdrew two days later.[5]

The Guardian stated that the election "has piqued interest not only because of the size of the task which falls to its victor, but also for the mud slinging and misogyny which has characterised the fight between the candidates." Former Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara made disparaging remarks regarding Koike's age and use of makeup, and characterized Torigoe as a "traitor to his country" for questioning Japanese protection of the Senkaku Islands. Torigoe was attacked in a tabloid magazine with allegations that he seduced a 20-year-old university student ten years earlier, in what some viewed as a deliberate smear campaign by his opposition.[6][7]

Candidates[8]
Name Age Party
(Endorsements)
Notes
Shōgo Takahashi 32 Independent
Yujiro Taniyama 43 Independent
Makoto Sakurai 44 Independent Founder of Zaitokukai. The election placed him fifth place, with 114,171 votes or 1.74% of the popular vote.[9]
Shuntaro Torigoe 76 Independent
(Democratic, Communist and Social Democratic, People's Life parties,[3] Tokyo Seikatsusha Network)
Hiroya Masuda 64 Independent
(Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito, Party for Japanese Kokoro)[3]
Former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, former governor of Iwate Prefecture
Mac Akasaka 67 Independent Perennial candidate
Toshio Yamaguchi 75 People's Sovereignty Party Former Minister of Labour
Masaaki Yamanaka 52 Future Creation Management Practice Party
Teruki Gotō 33 Independent Known for his naked election posters
Masatoshi Kishimoto 63 Independent
Yuriko Koike 64 Independent Former Minister of Defence
Takashi Uesugi 48 Independent
Hiroko Nanami 32 Happiness Realization Party
Chōzō Nakagawa 60 Independent Former mayor of Kasai, Hyōgo
Yasuhiro Sekiguchi 64 Independent
Takashi Tachibana 48 The Party to Protect the People from NHK Former Funabashi city councillor
Masahiro Miyazaki 61 Independent
Sadao Imao 76 Independent
Yoshihiko Mochizuki 51 Independent
Naoko Takei 51 Independent
Hisao Naitō 59 Independent

Results

Tokyo gubernatorial election, 2016[10] [11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Yuriko Koike 2,912,628 44.49% N/A
Independent (Supported by LDP, Komeito, Party for Japanese Kokoro) Hiroya Masuda 1,793,453 27.40% N/A
Independent (Supported by Democrats, Communist, Social Democrats, PLP, TSN) Shuntaro Torigoe 1,346,103 20.56% N/A
Independent Takashi Uesugi 179,631 2.74% N/A
Japan First Makoto Sakurai 114,171 1.74% N/A
Smile Mac Akasaka 43,912 0.72% N/A
Happiness Realization Hiroko Nanami 28,809 0.44% N/A
The Party to Protect the People from NHK Takashi Tachibana 27,242 0.42% N/A
Independent Shōgo Takahashi 16,664 0.25% N/A
Independent Chōzō Nakagawa 16,584 0.25% N/A
People's Sovereignty Party Toshio Yamaguchi 15,986 0.24% N/A
Independent Masatoshi Kishimoto 8,056 0.12% N/A
Independent Teruki Gotō 7,031 0.11% N/A
Independent Yujiro Taniyama 6,759 0.1% N/A
Independent Yoshihiko Mochizuki 4,605 0.07% N/A
Independent Masahiro Miyazaki 4,010 0.06% N/A
Independent Yoshihiko Mochizuki 3,332 0.05% N/A
Future Creation Management Practice Party Masaki Yamanaka 3,332 0.05% N/A
Independent Sadao Imao 3,105 0.05% N/A
Independent Hisao Naitō 2,695 0.04% N/A
Independent Yasuhiro Sekiguchi 1,326 0.02% N/A
Turnout 6,620,407 59.73% 13.59%

References

  1. "舛添氏が辞職願=21日付、政治資金流用で引責―都議会の不信任前に" [Masuzoe submits resignation dated 21st, takes responsibility for misuse of funds before no-confidence vote]. Yahoo Japan. Archived from the original on 15 June 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  2. Landers, Peter (2016-07-31). "Yuriko Koike Elected Governor of Tokyo, First Woman in Post". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  3. Aoki, Mizuho (14 July 2016). "Campaign kicks off for Tokyo governor race". Japan Times. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  4. Aoki, Mizuho; Osumi, Magdalena (11 July 2016). "LDP's Masuda gets official Tokyo gubernatorial nod as former commentator Koga weighs DP bid". Japan Times. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  5. Osaki, Tomohiro (13 July 2016). "Utsunomiya withdraws from Tokyo gubernatorial race to boost opposition-supported Torigoe". Japan Times. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  6. Foster, Martin (2016-07-29). "Tokyo turmoil: race to rule world's largest city mired in sex scandal and misogyny". the Guardian. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  7. "Tokyo's ill-tempered election - BBC News". Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  8. "平成28年7月31日執行東京都知事選挙 立候補者一覧" [31 July 2016 Tokyo Gubernatorial Election - List of Candidates] (PDF). Tokyo Electoral Commission. 14 July 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  9. "2016東京都知事選[2016 Tokyo Gubernatorial Election]" (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  10. https://www.asahi.com/senkyo/tochijisen/2020/kaihyo/
  11. https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/election/local/tochijisen2020/results/kouho17/
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