Yoichi Masuzoe's ability to address a wide range of issues and the failure of his rivals to keep the public's attention focused on nuclear energy were the keys to his victory in Sunday's Tokyo gubernatorial election, experts say.
"The pledges on which Masuzoe put emphasis were comprehensive, and he didn't repeat one particular issue," Meiji University professor Yasushi Aoyama said. "He gave voters the impression he would be a governor with a sense of stability."
Aoyama said Masuzoe succeeded in placing himself in the middle of the road on the issues, with former radical Air Self-Defense Force Gen. Toshio Tamogami on one side and anti-nuclear former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa and lawyer Kenji Utsunomiya on the other.
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