Pro- and anti-nuclear candidates are again locked in battle in a Japanese local election. But while pro-nuclear candidates have had the upper hand in all post-Fukushima elections until now, a clean slate of newcomers has made the gubernatorial contest in Yamaguchi prefecture one of the most high-profile among the anti-nuclear camp as recent polls indicate the candidate opposing nuclear power appears to have a fighting chance for the seat.
Out of four nominally independent candidates, recent opinion polls show that the frontrunner is Shigetaro Yamamoto, a former bureaucrat who has pledged to support nuclear power, closely followed by Tetsunari Iida, one of Japan’s most prominent anti-nuclear candidates whose campaign is gathering momentum. But with as many as half of voters still undecided, the likely result remains far from clear.
Continue reading at Fukushima Watch: Anti-Nuclear Candidate Gains Ground in Yamaguchi Race
