Yokohama: Elections will only have two pro-IR candidates

Eight candidates have been confirmed for Yokohama’s mayoral elections. Only two are in favour of developing an integrated resort in the city.

Japan.- Out of the eight candidates confirmed for Yokohama’s mayoral elections on August 22, only two are in favour of an integrated resort.

According to local media reports, Yokohama’s current pro-IR mayor Fumiko Hayashi has a good chance of winning. However, due to a large amount of opposition to an IR, she’s unlikely to win by a large majority.

The other pro-IR candidate is Mineyuki Fukuda, a former Cabinet Office vice-minister who resigned from the Liberal Democratic Party to join the Party of Hope. 

As for anti-IR candidates, there is Hachiro Okonogi, who is supported by Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s prime minister, who has encouraged the Liberal Democratic Party to support him.

Takeharu Yamanaka, a professor at Yokohama City University, has been chosen as the candidate to represent the CDPJ. He’s known to disagree with the development of an integrated resort, arguing that it could cause issues with gambling addiction.

Other candidates include Masataka Ota, Akiko Fujimura and Yoshiyuki Tsubokura. The first is 75 years old and a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party. He has been elected to the Yokohama City Council for 11 four-year periods since the 1970s.