In five gubernatorial elections Sunday, candidates supported by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and those supported by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan fought head on against each other. The LDP took three and the DPJ two. Although the results are not a direct indication of a similar trend in the Upper House election in July, they will give a political boost, at least temporarily, to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his LDP.
In Tokyo, incumbent Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, supported by the LDP and Komeito, trounced Mr. Shiro Asano, a former Miyagi governor supported by the DPJ, by a margin of more than 1.1 million votes. Although Mr. Ishihara is known for his rude remarks about foreigners and got into hot water over alleged misuse of public funds, Tokyoites cast a vote of confidence in his outspokenness and eight years of achievements, including tough diesel-emission control. Mr. Asano came too late and failed to sell a clear-cut platform.
LDP-supported incumbent governors won in Hokkaido and Fukuoka while DPJ-supported candidates won in Kanagawa and Iwate, the constituency of the DPJ leader Mr. Ichiro Ozawa. In Fukui and Mie, candidates supported by both the LDP and the DPJ won. In Nara, Tottori, Shimane, Tokushima, Saga and Oita, where the DPJ supported no particular candidates, LDP-supported candidates won.