In a stunning turn of events, former Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito was reelected to the prefecture’s top executive office on Nov. 17 after he had automatically lost the position following a no-confidence vote that was unanimously passed by the prefectural assembly in September.
The victory made Saito the second governor in Japan’s postwar history to be reelected to the same post after losing their position due to a vote of no confidence.
Data from the prefectural election commission shows that Saito won with over 1.11 million votes, beating runner-up Kazumi Inamura by a 5.6 percentage point margin. The election also saw a historic voter turnout of 55.65% – 14.55 points higher than the previous election in 2021.
In front of Saito’s campaign office on a shopping street in Kobe, hundreds of supporters waited patiently for the governor-elect’s appearance on Nov. 17. When he finally arrived around 9:40 p.m., the crowd erupted into applause while chanting his name.
After thanking his supporters with deep bows, the 47-year-old apologized again for the widespread concerns brought about by allegations against him, and vowed to continue pushing Hyogo’s governance forward toward a “vibrant future.” (The Japan Times)
毎週届く！
