2023 Hokkaido gubernatorial election

The 2023 Hokkaido gubernatorial election was held on 9 April 2023, to elect the next governor of Hokkaido Prefecture.^[1] It was held as part of the 2023 Japanese unified local elections. The incumbent governor of Hokkaido, independent candidate, Naomichi Suzuki, won a landslide victory against Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan candidate Maki Ikeda.^[2]

2023 Hokkaido gubernatorial election

← 2019 9 April 2023 2027 →
Turnout	51.7%
Candidate Naomichi Suzuki Maki Ikeda Party Independent Independent Popular vote 1,692,436 479,678 Percentage 75.6% 21.4% Supported by LDP, Komeito CDP, JCP, SDP, DPFP
Governor before election Naomichi Suzuki Independent Elected Governor Naomichi Suzuki Independent

Maki Ikeda, a newcomer candidate, attempted to position herself as a competent competitor to Suzuki.^[3]

Candidates

• Naomichi Suzuki, Incumbent Governor and former mayor of Yūbari, Hokkaido backed by LDP and Komeito.
• Maki Ikeda, Former member of the House of Representatives backed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Japanese Communist Party, Social Democratic Party, and the Democratic Party for the People.
• Yoshio Monbetsu,^[4] Construction worker.
• Daisuke Mihara,^[5] Former post office employee and barber. Ran as a single-issue candidate against the demolition of Hokkaido Centennial Memorial Tower.

Withdrawn candidates

• Mikuma, business investor who announced his candidacy at a press conference on March 10, 2023.^[6] 5 days later, on March 15, they withdrew their candidacy.^[7] The name "Mikuma" is a pseudonym and the candidate refused to state their actual name.
• Takashi Wada, furniture manufacturer, on March 8, 2023, he expressed his intention to run as a candidate during an interview.^[8] Despite his declared candidacy, he failed to register as a candidate by the registration date. He would later run for the Hokkaido Prefectural Assembly for Ebetsu during the 2023 Hokkaido prefectural election, which he lost.

Campaigning

The election saw heavy campaigning by both major candidates.^[9]

Suzuki primarily campaigned near the Pacific coast, making most of his speeches in Ishikari Subprefecture, Hidaka Subprefecture, and Tokachi Subprefecture. Suzuki leaned heavily upon the interests of agricultural and fishing cooperatives.

Ikeda would campaign most heavily along the northern coast, near the Sea of Japan, though her campaign initially centered in Hiyama Subprefecture, she would later move further south, shifting her focus to Hakodate. Ikeda would primarily campaign under plans of expanding welfare in the prefecture.^[10]

Results

Pie Chart

  Naomichi Suzuki (75.63%)

  Maki Ikeda (21.44%)

  Yoshio Monbetsu (1.81%)

  Daisuke Mihara (1.12%)

Hokkaido gubernatorial 2023

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Naomichi Suzuki	1,692,436	75.6%	+12.9%
	Independent	Maki Ikeda	479,678	21.4%	New
	Independent (Politician)	Yoshio Monbetsu	40,579	1.8%	New
	Independent (Politician)	Daisuke Mihara	24,978	1.1%	New
Turnout			2,237,671	51.7%	−6.7%

References

1. Shimbun, Yomiuri. "LDP Wins Showdown with Opposition". Japan News.
2. Kyodo (10 April 2023). "Key gubernatorial victories boost Kishida's ruling bloc". Japan Times.
3. "Japan Gubernatorial Campaigns Kick Off". The Japan News.
4. 中野龍三. "北海道知事選、門別氏が出馬表明　前回衆院選で比例立候補". 朝日新聞.
5. "出雲の男性が出馬へ　北海道知事選". 山陰中央新報.
6. "札幌の投資家女性、道知事選出馬を表明". 北海道新聞.
7. "来月９日投票の道知事選挙 新人・みくま氏は立候補見送りへ". NHKニュース.
8. 石井昇. "江別の自営業和田貴志氏、道知事選出馬の意向". 北海道新聞.
9. "Visualizing the campaign activities of Naomichi Suzuki and Maki Ikeda in the Hokkaido gubernatorial election". NHK. NHK. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
10. "Positions and Opinions of the Four candidates competing in the Hokkaido gubernatorial election". NHK. NHK. Retrieved 25 March 2024.