下段は記事英文

By English

The first half of the unified local elections, the prefectural assembly member elections, were announced on the 31st, and candidate registration closed at 5 pm on the same day. In the northern part of Akita prefecture, there are four candidates for the three seats in the Odate City election district, including three incumbents and one newcomer, and three candidates for the two seats each in the Kazuno City/District and Kita akita City/District election districts, including two incumbents and one newcomer. The election will be held on April 9th.

In the previous election in the region, both the Odate City and Kazuno City/District election districts were uncontested for the first time in 16 years, while the Kazuno City/District had a three-way race in which one incumbent and one newcomer were elected. On the other hand, this election is a fierce battle for "one person to lose" in all districts.

Registration of candidates began at 8:30 am at 14 locations in the prefecture on the 31st and closed at 5 pm. As a result, in the Odate City election district, Kenichiro Sato (75) of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) aims for his fifth term, Hiroshi Ishida (76) of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) aims for his eighth term, Yoichi Suzuki (78) of the LDP aims for his ninth term, and a newcomer, Masayuki Kotanagi (55), a former city council member, has registered.

In the Kazuno City/District election district, Masaaki Kodama (51) of the LDP, who seeks reelection, Hajime Kawaguchi (72) of the same party, who seeks his seventh term, and a newcomer, Seiichiro Anbo (69), a former city council member who runs as an independent candidate, have registered.

In the Kita akita City/District election district, Kenichiro Kondo (67) of the LDP, who seeks his fifth term, Mitsuko Sato (45), a newcomer and former city council member who runs as an independent candidate, and Takemasa Kitabayashi (62) of the LDP, who seeks his fifth term, have registered. In all three districts, incumbents are challenged by newcomers who were former city council members.

According to the number of eligible voters as of the same day announced by the Akita Prefectural Election Management Committee on the day before the announcement, Odate City had 59,868 voters (28,004 men and 31,864 women), Kazuno City had 24,968 voters (11,778 men and 13,190 women), Kita akita City had 26,273 voters (12,294 men and 13,979 women), Kosaka Town had 4,191 voters (1,929 men and 2,262 women), and Kamikoani Village had 1,858 voters (889 men and 969 women). The total number of eligible voters in the prefecture was 825,428 (386,885 men and 438,543 women), which decreased by 45,312 compared to the day before the announcement of the previous prefectural assembly election held four years ago.

After completing the necessary paperwork, including the check of the required documents, the candidates and their agents quickly returned to their respective offices after receiving the "seven tools" of the election, including campaign cars with display boards. Like in the past, each candidate held a send-off ceremony at their campaign offices and made their first speech before touring each election district with their campaign cars under calm weather to appeal for support.   (5:01 pm)