The Hyogo Prefectural gubernatorial election, in which a record seven candidates ran, was held on the 17th, and former House of Councilors member Takayuki Shimizu declared defeat at his campaign office in Kobe. After the voting had ended at around 8 p.m. on the 17th, Shimizu appeared at his campaign office and said, "Hyogo Prefectural Government has become chaotic and I have appealed for reform, but I was not strong enough to win," and bowed to the supporters who had gathered. Regarding the reason for his defeat, Shimizu reflected, "It is solely my own lack of ability. It is true that I thought this election was difficult. In terms of public opinion, I felt that the voices and feelings (of the prefecture's residents) changed (during the election period). I was not able to grasp that." Regarding the election campaign's popularity on social media, Shimizu said, "I tried not to look at it myself, but in that sense, it is true that it is difficult to grasp what is true and what is false in the world of social media. I thought that it was difficult to read the information to make a judgment, but this is also a trend of the times. I think it is an election campaign in the current era, and I myself was not able to handle it well." Seven candidates, the largest number ever, ran in the gubernatorial election: former House of Councillors member Takayuki Shimizu (50), former Amagasaki Mayor Kazumi Inamura (52), former Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito (47), Communist Party-endorsed doctor Yoshikiyo Osawa (61), company manager Shigeyuki Fukumoto (58), NHK Party to Protect the People leader Takashi Tachibana (57), and company manager Hirotsugu Kijima (49). Six newcomers, including former Diet members and mayors, challenged former Governor Saito, who lost his job due to a vote of no confidence in the prefectural assembly. The main issues in the election were the evaluation of the former governor's three years of prefectural administration and the pros and cons of handling the issue of whistle-blowing documents by former senior officials. As of 7 p.m., the turnout rate was 31.17%, about 7 points higher than the previous gubernatorial election in 2021. The turnout rate for early voting up until the day before was 20.96%, with 944,541 people having already voted, an increase of 340,000 from the previous gubernatorial election in 2021, the highest number ever. ▼Feature videos, in-depth commentary, and the latest news delivered daily Please subscribe to our channel! / @ytv_news ▼Submit information here: "Submission Box" https://www.ytv.co.jp/toukou_box/ ▼Yomiuri TV News Bureau's social media TikTok / ytvnews X (formerly Twitter) / news_ytv ▼Yomiuri TV News https://www.ytv.co.jp/press/ ▼Kansai Information Network ten. Facebook / ytvten Instagram / ytv.ten X (formerly Twitter) / ytvnewsten Website https://www.ytv.co.jp/ten/ ▼Information Live Miyaneya https://www.ytv.co.jp/miyaneya/ ▼Wake Up X (formerly Twitter) / ytvwakeup Website https://www.ytv.co.jp/wakeup/