Yamano Elected Ishikawa Governor for 1st Time

Kanazawa, Ishikawa Pref., March 8 (Jiji Press)–Yukiyoshi Yamano, an independent and a former mayor of the city of Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, won the central Japan prefecture’s gubernatorial election for the first time on Sunday, defeating incumbent Hiroshi Hase and another candidate. Yamano, 63, ran for Ishikawa governor after having also contested the previous gubernatorial election in 2022. He received support from the prefectural chapter of the opposition Democratic Party for the People and some conservative prefectural assembly members, highlighting his three terms as Kanazawa mayor. On reconstruction from the 2024 powerful earthquake that afflicted the Noto Peninsula, mainly Ishikawa, which had become a key campaign issue, Yamano expressed his intention to stay in affected areas for a certain period and strengthen dialogue with residents. He defeated Hase, 64, in the conservative split race. Of the two defeated candidates, both independents, Hase was backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, as well as by a labor union body, the prefectural chapter of the Social Democratic Party and mayors across the prefecture, running a highly organized campaign. Akira Kuroume, 78, was supported by the Japanese Communist Party. The voter turnout was 54.68 pct, down from 61.82 pct in the previous election. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]