Incumbent Kyoto Gov. Keiji Yamada, 60, easily won re-election Sunday night, defeating rival Nozomu Ozaki, 59, by over a quarter of a million votes in a lackluster race.
Strong support from most established political parties and the business community, coupled with the lack of a compelling challenger, saw voter turnout plummet to its lowest level ever at just 34.45 percent.
According to the final count, Yamada won his fourth term with 481,195 votes to Ozaki's 215,744. The incumbent had the backing of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito, and the Democratic Party of Japan. The Kyoto chapter of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) also offered its support.
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