YOKOHAMA - Newcomer Atsumi Harasawa won the Yokohama mayoral election Sunday with the backing of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and other parties, defeating six other candidates, including a former mayor who resigned over verbal abuse of subordinates.
"I will think from the perspective of our city's citizens, not be swayed by others. I will restore the dignity of our city employees," Harasawa, a 59-year-old lawyer, said after news broke of her victory Sunday night.
She ran as an independent but secured support from the LDP, its junior coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, as well as from the opposition Democratic Party for the People and city council members of the Komeito party.
The election was held after Takeharu Yamanaka stepped down in September, admitting to bullying and verbally abusing several officials of the municipal government in the port city near Tokyo. A third-party investigation found in July that he had used terms such as "human scum" and abused his authority over personnel.
Yamanaka, 54, apologized to his supporters for the loss, which followed landslide victories in the previous two elections. "This is a result that reflects the severe voices of voters in the city," he said. "I hope that (the next mayor) will continue and build on my policies."
Atsushi Fukuyama, a 37-year-old company president who secured the second highest number of votes, said the backing of the ultraconservative Sanseito party had given him a boost. "More people came and listened to me."
During campaigning, Harasawa pledged to move forward with municipal policies that had been halted due to her predecessor's abuse, drawing on her experience in corporate governance and compliance as an external board member of several companies.
Harasawa garnered 552,207 votes, more than twice as many as the 230,418 votes secured by Fukuyama. Yamanaka came third with 199,746 votes, according to the local election board.
Voter turnout was up 3.92 percentage points from the previous election at 45.56 percent.
