Nagano Prefecture, whose assembly ousted a dam-decrying governor in a no-confidence vote last month, is set to elect a new leader on Sept. 1. Campaigning started officially on Thursday with six candidates in the running, including former Gov. Yasuo Tanaka. The other five candidates are new faces with no party affiliations.

Mr. Tanaka, a popular novelist, won a landslide victory in a gubernatorial election in October 2000. His "down with dams" slogan struck a chord with many voters. Early last month, however, the prefectural assembly, dominated by prodam conservatives, gave him a thumbs down by an overwhelming majority. Mr. Tanaka declared at the time he would seek re-election. As the election nears, though, local reports say there appears to be no groundswell of enthusiasm among voters. The biggest reason, it seems, is that Mr. Tanaka's rivals are not coming out openly against his antidam credo. That is odd, since it was his "no more dams" declaration that prompted the assembly to pass a no-confidence motion against him.

The immediate issue is whether to continue dam projects now under way in the prefecture. In the longer run, the question at stake is how to refashion a public investment policy tilted heavily toward dam construction. Mr. Tanaka tried to change that policy by attacking political taboos and bureaucratic rigidities. That is why, in the last election, conservative forces closed ranks against him to preserve vested interests.