2011 Tokyo gubernatorial election

Tokyo held a gubernatorial election on April 10, 2011 as part of the 17th unified local elections. There were eleven candidates.[1]

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The election occurred in the wake of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster, which occurred on the first day of the campaign. Incumbent governor Shintaro Ishihara entered the race after initially indicating that he would retire, with a platform of supporting the tsunami disaster areas and bidding for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[2] Kanagawa governor Shigefumi Matsuzawa, who had been a prominent candidate at the start of the campaign, left the race on March 15 and threw his support behind Ishihara, arguing that both men needed to stay with their governments through the wake of the disasters.[3] Ishihara remained in the lead in polls through voting day, despite a prominent gaffe in which he characterized the disasters as "divine punishment" for "egoism" in Japanese society. His victory was owed in large part to his crisis management presence following the disasters, such as drinking Tokyo tap water on camera in order to demonstrate that it was safe from radiation.[4]

Gubernatorial election 2011: Tokyo
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
LDP, New Komeito Shintarō Ishihara 2,615,120 43.4% -7.7%
Independent Hideo Higashikokubaru 1,690,669 28.1%
Independent Miki Watanabe 1,013,132 16.8%
JCP Akira Koike 623,913 10.4%
Independent Yoshiro Nakamatsu 48,672 0.8% -0.8%
Independent Yujirō Taniyama 10,300 0.2%
Independent Keigo Furukawa 6,389 0.1%
Independent Ken Sugita 5,475 0.1%
Smile Party Mac Akasaka 4,598 0.1%
Tokyo Restoration Party Osamu Ogami 3,793 0.1%
Peace and Nuclear Disarmament Party Kenji Himeji 3,278 0.1%
Turnout 6,072,604 57.8% +3.5%

References
  1. Results from Tokyo Metropolitan Election Commission Archived 2013-12-29 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese)
  2. Koh, Yoree (11 April 2011). "Tokyo Governor Takes Aim at Vending Machines, Pachinko". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  3. Fukada, Takahiro (15 April 2011). "Matsuzawa quits, backs Ishihara". Japan Times. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  4. Brinsley, John (8 April 2011). "Quake Gaffe Fails to Halt Ishihara's Bid for Fourth Term as Tokyo Governor". Bloomberg. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
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