37,336 views
On the 17th, voting took place in each city and town in the Hyogo Prefecture gubernatorial election following the loss of office of former governor Motohiko Saito (47) who was accused of power harassment in writing, and the former governor, Saito, was re-elected. All candidates were independents, and defeated six others, including former House of Councilors member Takayuki Shimizu (50) and former Amagasaki City Mayor Kazumi Inamura (52). The main issues in the election were the governor's qualifications and how to restructure the chaotic prefectural government. Saito Motohiko has secured his comeback. In an election campaign against the wind, he gained support mainly through social networking sites (SNS), and attracted votes by exploiting the gaps in the major political parties that were unable to unify their candidates. Hundreds of supporters gathered at his office in Chuo Ward, Kobe City from around 7:40 pm on the day. When some media outlets reported the victory at 8 pm, when the voting closed, loud cheers of "Congratulations!" and "Saito calls" rang out throughout the area. He received a bouquet of flowers from a supporter and expressed his gratitude (01:30)