The 2012 Tokyo gubernatorial election took place on December 16, 2012, which was held on the same day as the general election.
Background
After long-term Governor Shintaro Ishihara suddenly resigned to return to national politics ahead of the then-looming next general election.[1] A field of nine candidates emerged, with the front-runner being Naoki Inose, who had been vice-governor under Ishihara from 2007 to 2012, and then acting governor after Ishihara's abrupt resignation. Inose vowed to follow Ishihara's policies.
Candidates
Mac Akasaka (real name: Makoto Tonami) - Therapist, activist, perennial candidate. Founder and leader of the Smile Party.[2]
Masaichi Igarashi - Member of the board of directors of an international exchange body.
Naoki Inose - Journalist, historian, social critic. Then vice-governor of Tokyo and acting governor.[3]
The result was a landslide victory for Inose, who received 4,338,936 votes, setting a new record for the total number of votes in a Tokyo gubernatorial election. The previous record was 3.61 million cast for the socialist Governor Ryokichi Minobe in 1971.[10]