Wave of local elections likely to be held in April
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government decided last year that this year’s nationwide round of local elections will be held on April 12 and 26.
Under a bill approved by the Cabinet and expected to clear the Diet, elections for 11 prefectural governors and the mayors of five major cities will be held on April 12.
A second round to elect town and village heads and assemblies will take place two weeks later, on April 26.
This year’s elections are now the focus of Abe’s government, as it turns its attention more toward addressing local political issues and concerns ranging from economic revitalization and the growing prosperity gap between major cities and the rest of Japan, to depopulation and care for elderly rural residents.