Yasuo Tanaka, candidate for the governorship of Nagano Prefecture, was supposed to meet voters at 2:30 p.m. at a shopping arcade in downtown Nagano, but it was a long arcade. A campaign worker wearing a bright orange windbreaker was handing out literature in front of Ito Yokado. "I think it's been changed," he said, sounding as if he didn't want to be taken at his word. "Now it's scheduled for 3:30 in front of 82 Bank," which happened to be all the way at the other end of the arcade. There, another campaign worker said, when asked about the relocation, "Really? I thought so, but I wasn't sure."

The logistical problems were understandable, and probably predictable. Tanaka had only declared his candidacy in late August, the last of four candidates to do so, and here it was only a week before the actual voting. Though born and raised for a time in Karuizawa, Tanaka lived in Tokyo, so in a sense he was getting to know the prefecture all over again. A friend who lives in Nagano dismissed the Tanaka candidacy. "By the time he entered, they had already done awashi decided that Fumitaka Ikeda would be governor. And his campaign is a mess."

Nevertheless, Tanaka eventually went on to win the race last Sunday, and by a hefty margin. In hindsight, it seems like a foregone conclusion. At 44, he was not only the youngest of the four candidates, he is and always will be a media celebrity: a successful, award-winning novelist who writes for dozens of magazines and who often appears on TV. In a way, he's perfect.