Local News

Kitakyushu Mayor Wins Third Term

Kenji Kitahashi, the incumbent mayor of Kitakyushu City, soundly defeated two other independent candidates in the Jan. 25 Kitakyushu mayoral election and clinched a third term. The race focused on issues such as depopulation, aging (Kitakyushu is the fastest aging designated city in Japan) and jobs, and Kitahashi’s message of “working with the Abe administration to bring the effects of Abenomics to the region” garnered broad support. Although Kitahashi is a former Democratic Party member of the lower house, he ended up winning endorsements from the LDP, which gave up on putting its own candidate in the race, as well as city council members affiliates with the Komei Party and the DPJ. The race was essentially viewed as a vote of confidence for Kitahashi and voter turnout, at 35.88%, was the lowest on record for the city. The 201,931 votes he won was also the lowest total in his three elections. Nishinippon Shimbun 1/24

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Category
Politics
Published: Jan 28, 2015 / Last Updated: Apr 1, 2016

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