Abe-Backed Candidate Wins Ibaraki Prefecture Election in Nuclear Boost
- Almost one million people live within 30 kilometers of reactor
- Victory helps Japanese prime minister after series of setbacks
Kazuhiko Oigawa, second left, celebrates after winning the Ibaraki gubernatorial election in Mito, Japan, on Aug. 27.
Source: KyodoThis article is for subscribers only.
A candidate backed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling party was elected Sunday as governor of Japan’s Ibaraki prefecture, potentially boosting the premier’s push to revive the nation’s atomic plants after the Fukushima disaster six years ago.
Kazuhiko Oigawa, 53, beat incumbent Masaru Hashimoto, public broadcaster NHK reported. While the independent Hashimoto, 71, has opposed restarting a reactor in the prefecture, Oigawa, a former trade ministry official, hasn’t openly spoken against putting the unit back into operation.