People listen to a campaign speech in Shizuoka City on May 9.
20:00 JST, May 20, 2024
1SHIZUOKA – Two of the six candidates for Shizuoka’s gubernatorial election are locked in a neck-and-neck battle, according to a telephone survey by The Yomiuri Shimbun and analysis of campaign reporting.
The two candidates are former Hamamatsu Mayor Yasutomo Suzuki, 66, endorsed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the People’s Democratic Party, and former Shizuoka deputy governor Shinichi Omura, 60, backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
However, the situation is uncertain as 20% of eligible voters have yet to choose who they will vote for in the elections to be held on Sunday.
The elections are a confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties. While Suzuki is backed by 70% of CDPJ supporters, Omura received the support of almost 70% of LDP supporters and 50% of those who supported Komeito, the LDP’s junior coalition partner.
Nearly 40% of independent voters support Suzuki, while Omura is supported by about 30%.
The survey found that 53% of respondents are in favor of starting the planned construction of the linear Chuo Shinkansen magnetic line between Tokyo and Nagoya, while 27% are against. The construction of the 8.9-kilometer Shizuoka section of the magnetic line is considered one of the most important issues in the election campaign.
Four of the six candidates, including Suzuki and Omura, are in favor of the construction, the others are not.
The Yomiuri Shimbun surveyed from Friday to Sunday in Shizuoka Prefecture using random numbers. The survey reached 1,302 households with at least one eligible voter. Valid responses were received from 707 people, for a response rate of 54%.
