OSAKA -- Makoto Ajisaka, a 66-year-old professor emeritus at Kansai University, formally announced his candidacy for the Feb. 6 Osaka gubernatorial election on Monday, saying that he wanted to wipe out the shame brought on the prefecture by outgoing Gov. "Knock" Yokoyama, who stepped down due to a sex scandal. With the backing of the Japanese Communist Party and a number of labor unions, Ajisaka received some 920,000 votes in the last gubernatorial election in April. "What forced Yokoyama to resign was good sense on the part of the general public, which will display sensible judgment in the (upcoming) gubernatorial election," Ajisaka said.