2026 Japanese local elections
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In 2026, numerous local elections are scheduled to be held in Japan outside the unified local elections in 2023 and 2027, including 13 gubernatorial elections and other local elections, due to term expiry.
Background
The Japanese political process has two types of elections.
- National elections (国政選挙, kokusei senkyo)
- Subnational/local elections (地方選挙, chihō senkyo)
While the national level features a parliamentary system of government where the head of government is elected indirectly by the legislature, prefectures and municipalities employ a presidential system where chief executives and legislative assemblies are directly elected, independently from each other. Many of the prefectural and municipal elections are held together in unified local elections (統一地方選挙, Tōitsu chihō senkyo) since 1947, held in years before leap years;[1] but since each election cycle of every chief executive or assembly of any prefecture or municipality is independent and not reset after resignations/deaths/recalls/no-confidence votes/dissolutions/municipal mergers, there are also many non-unified local elections today. Prefectural and municipal assemblies are unicameral, the National Diet is bicameral, with the two houses on independent election cycles.
Gubernatorial
At least 13 gubernatorial elections are scheduled to be held in 2026.
Fukui Prefecture
The 2026 Fukui gubernatorial election was held on 25 January 2026.[2]
Background
Incumbent Tatsuji Sugimoto stepped down from office on 4 December 2025 following allegations of sexual harassing staff using texts.[3]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| 25 January 2026 | Vacant[A] | None | Takato Ishida | Independent | ||
| Sources: [3] | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Takato Ishida | 134,620 | 47.97 | new | |
| Independent | Ken'ichi Yamada | 130,290 | 46.43 | new | |
| JCP | Kanemoto Yukie | 15,735 | 5.61 |  5.1 | |
| Registered electors | 610,925 | 4.79 | |||
Yamaguchi Prefecture
The 2026 Yamaguchi gubernatorial election was held on 8 February 2026.[5]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| 8 February 2026 | Tsugumasa Muraoka | Independent | Tsugumasa Muraoka | Independent | ||
| Sources:[6] | ||||||
| Candidates | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tsugumasa Muraoka (Incumbent) | Independent | 414,839 | 69.1 | |
| Machiko Arichika | Independent | 156,398 | 26.1 | |
| Masako Okubo | Independent | 28,997 | 4.8 | |
| Sources: [7] | ||||
Nagasaki Prefecture
The 2026 Nagasaki gubernatorial election was held on 8 February 2026.[8]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| 8 February 2026 | Kengo Oishi | Independent | Ken Hirata | Independent | ||
| Sources: | ||||||
| Candidates | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Hirata | Independent | 287,134 | 48.3 | ||
| Kengo Oishi (Incumbent) | Independent | 280,346 | 47.2 | ||
| Ryosuke Tsutsui | Independent | 26,390 | 4.4 | ||
| Sources: [9] | |||||
Osaka Prefecture
The 2026 Osaka gubernatorial election was held on 8 February 2026. Incumbent governor Hirofumi Yoshimura resigned on 22 January 2025.[10]
| Candidates | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hirofumi Yoshimura | Ishin (Incumbent) | 3,024,106 | 83.2 | ||
| Tsuneki Onishi | Independent | 452,807 | 12.5 | ||
| Tamotsu Noto | Independent | 155,855 | 4.3 | ||
| Sources: [12] | |||||
Ishikawa Prefecture
The 2026 Ishikawa gubernatorial election was held on 8 March 2026.[13]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| 8 March 2026 | Hiroshi Hase | Independent | Yukiyoshi Yamano | Independent | ||
| Sources: | ||||||
| Candidates[C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yukiyoshi Yamano | Independent | 245,674 | 49.65 | ||
| Hiroshi Hase (Incumbent) | Independent | 239,564 | 48.42 | ||
| Akira Kuroume | Independent | 9,540 | 1.93 | ||
| Sources: [13] | |||||
Kyoto Prefecture
The 2026 Kyoto gubernatorial election was held on 5 April 2026.[14]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| 5 April 2026 | Takatoshi Nishiwaki | Independent | Takatoshi Nishiwaki | Independent | ||
| Sources: | ||||||
| Candidates[C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Takatoshi Nishiwaki (Incumbent) | Independent | 412,583 | 55.46 | ||
| Satoshi Hamada | Japan Liberal Party (2025) | 181,998 | 24.47 | ||
| Nobuo Fujii | Independent | 149,330 | 20.07 | ||
| Sources: [14] | |||||
Niigata Prefecture
The 2026 Niigata gubernatorial election was held on 31 May 2026.[15]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| 31 May 2026 | Hideyo Hanazumi | Independent | Hideyo Hanazumi | Independent | ||
| Sources: [15][16] | ||||||
| Candidates[C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hideyo Hanazumi (Incumbent) | Independent | 554,012 | 66.92 | ||
| Ryugo Tsuchida | Independent | 230,721 | 27.87 | ||
| Satoshi Annaka | Independent | 43,089 | 5.21 | ||
| Sources: [16] | |||||
Shiga Prefecture
The 2026 Shiga gubernatorial election was held on 5 July 2026.[17]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| July 2026 | Taizō Mikazuki | Independent | Taizō Mikazuki | Independent | ||
| Sources: [18] | ||||||
| Candidates[C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taizō Mikazuki (Incumbent) | Independent | 297,036 | 66.12 | ||
| Motoshi Ōsumi | Independent | 96,918 | 21.57 | ||
| Ikuo Tsubota | Independent | 39,044 | 8.69 | ||
| Masaaki Sakamoto | Independent | 16,245 | 3.62 | ||
| Sources: [19] | |||||
Nagano Prefecture
The 2026 Nagano gubernatorial election was held on 9 August 2026.[20]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| 9 August 2026 | Shuichi Abe | Independent | Shuichi Abe | Independent | ||
| Sources: | ||||||
| Candidates[C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shuichi Abe (Incumbent) | Independent | 573,742 | 86.13 | ||
| Ryōsuke Takeda | Independent | 92,366 | 13.87 | ||
| Sources: | |||||
Kagawa Prefecture
The 2026 Kagawa gubernatorial election was held on 30 August 2026.[21]
| Date | Before election | After election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | ||||
| 30 August 2026 | Toyohito Ikeda | Independent | Toyohito Ikeda | Independent | |||
| Sources: | |||||||
| Candidates[C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyohito Ikeda (Incumbent) | Independent | 193,244 | 71.11 | ||
| Fumihiko Senoo | Independent | 49,296 | 18.14 | ||
| Kenichi Tanabe | Independent | 24,225 | 8.91 | ||
| Katsunori Sone | Independent | 4,986 | 1.83 | ||
| Sources: | |||||
Okinawa Prefecture
The 2026 Okinawa gubernatorial election was held on 13 September 2026.[22][23]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| 13 September 2026 | Denny Tamaki | Independent | Genta Koja | Independent | ||
| Sources: | ||||||
| Candidates[C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genta Koja | Independent | 423,124 | 59.42 | ||
| Denny Tamaki (Incumbent) | Independent | 276,060 | 38.77 | ||
| Shun Kaneshima | Independent | 4,657 | 0.65 | ||
| Takashi Higa | Independent | 3,542 | 0.50 | ||
| Chōsuke Yara | Kariyushi Club | 2,467 | 0.35 | ||
| Masahiro Sueyoshi | Independent | 2,270 | 0.32 | ||
| Sources: [24] | |||||
Fukushima Prefecture
If not set earlier, the 2026 Fukushima gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held on 11 November 2026.[23]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| November 2026 | Masao Uchibori | Independent | TBA | |||
| Sources: | ||||||
| Candidates[C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | |||||
| Sources: | |||||
Aichi Prefecture
If not set earlier, the 2026 Aichi gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held on 30 November 2026.[23]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| November 2026 | Hideaki Ōmura | Independent | TBA | |||
| Sources: | ||||||
| Candidates[C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | |||||
| Sources: | |||||
- Tatsuji Sugimoto resigned on 4 December 2025, thus the gubernatorial seat is vacant.
- Listed here are candidates who formally announced their candidacy
Mayoral
January
Legend:
- R - Re-elected
- N - Newcomer
| Date[25] | City/Town/Village[25] | Prefecture[25] | Winner | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 January | Maebashi | Ibaraki Prefecture | Akira Ogawa (Indp) (R) | [26][A] |
| 17 January | Wassamu | Hokkaido Prefecture | Koichiro Nakahara (Indp) N | [27] |
| 18 January | Ninohe | Iwate Prefecture | Ichio Itsuka (Indp) (N) | [28] |
| Iwaizumi | Makoto Sasaki (Indp) (N) | [29] | ||
| Minamisoma | Fukushima Prefecture | Kazuo Monma (Indp) (R) | [30] | |
| Azumino | Nagano Prefecture | Eiki Nakayama (Indp) (N) | [31][B] | |
| Tosashimizu | Kochi Prefecture | Tetsuya Okazaki (Indp) (N) | [32] | |
| Makurazaki | Kagoshima Prefecture | Yoshinari Maeda (Indp) (R) | [33] | |
| Kusatsu | Gunma Prefecture | Kimio Miyazaki (Indp) (N) | [34] | |
| Chonan | Chiba Prefecture | Sadao Hirano (Indp) (R) | [B][35] | |
| Otaki | Noboru Hirabayashi (Indp) (R) | [B][36] | ||
| Takamori | Nagano Prefecture | Teruhiro Mibu (Indp) (R) | [37] | |
| Takagi | Fumihiko Sato (Indp) (N) | [38] | ||
| Satosho | Okayama Prefecture | Isao Akagi (Indp) (N) | [B][39] | |
| Katsuura | Tokushima Prefecture | Takenori Nogami (Indp) (R) | [B][40] | |
| Kitajima | Yasuhiro Furukawa (Indp) (R) | [B][41] | ||
| 25 January | Hokuto | Hokkaido Prefecture | Tatsuo Ikeda (Indp) (R) | [42] |
| Hanamaki | Iwate Prefecture | Masaru Ohara | [43] | |
| Shiwa | Kamata Sen'ichi (Indp) (N) | [44] | ||
| Hirono | Masayoshi Okamoto (Indp) (R) | [B][45] | ||
| Kitakata | Fukushima Prefecture | Chūichi Endo (Indp) (R) | [46] | |
| Date | Hiroyuki Suda (Indp) (R) | [B][47] | ||
| Honjo | Saitama Prefecture | Yoshida Nobuyoshi (Indp) (R) | [B][48] | |
| Fukaya | Susumu Kojima (Indp) (R) | [49] | ||
| Kamikawa | Akira Sakurazawa (Indp) (R) | [B][50] | ||
| Taki | Mie Prefecture | Hisayuki Tsutsui (Indp) (N) | [B][51] | |
| Kiho | Mikiya Mukai (Indp) (N) | [52] | ||
| Hadano | Kanagawa Prefecture | Masakazu Takahashi (Indp) (R) | [53] | |
| Gosen | Niigata Prefecture | Masayuki Tanabe (Indp) (R) | [B][54] | |
| Awara | Fukui Prefecture | Mori Noritsugu (Indp) (R) | [55] | |
| Minokamo | Gifu Prefecture | Hiroto Fujii (Indp) (R) | [B][56] | |
| Susono | Shizuoka Prefecture | Yū Murata (Indp) (R) | [57] | |
| Ayabe | Kyoto Prefecture | Gentaro Shikata (Indp) (N) | [58] | |
| Kaizuka | Osaka Prefecture | Jiro Ushio (One Osaka) (N) | [59] | |
| Mitoyo | Kagawa Prefecture | Akishi Yamashita (Indp) (R) | [B][60] | |
| Konan | Kochi Prefecture | Gota Hamada (Indp) (R) | [B][61] | |
| Nakatosa | Hiromitsu Ikeda (Indp) (R) | [B][62] | ||
| Kurume | Fukuoka Prefecture | Shingo Haraguchi (Indp) (R) | [B][63] | |
| Ureshino | Saga Prefecture | Takuya Yamaguchi (Indp) (N) | [64] | |
| Matsuura | Nagasaki Prefecture | Yoshiyasu Tomoda (Indp) (R) | [65] | |
| Miyazaki | Miyazaki Prefecture | Tomonori Kiyoyama (Indp) (R) | [66] | |
| Kanoya | Kagoshima Prefecture | Takuo Gohara (Indp) (N) | [67] | |
| Ibusuki | Akiji Uchikoshi (Indp) (R) | [B][68] | ||
| Nago | Okinawa Prefecture | Taketoyo Toguchi (Indp) (R) | [69] | |
| Yaese | Yasuhiro Arakaki (Indp) (R) | [70] | ||
| Nanbu | Aomori Prefecture | Kudo Sukenao (Indp) (R) | [B][71] | |
| Misato | Miyagi Prefecture | Seiichi Aizawa (Indp) (R) | [72] | |
| Tako | Chiba Prefecture | Tomiko Hirayama (Indp) (R) | [73] | |
| Tateyama | Toyama Prefecture | Takayuki Funahashi (Indp) (R) | [74] | |
| Anamizu | Ishikawa Prefecture | Mitsuteru Yoshimura (Indp) (R) | [B][75] | |
| Kamitonda | Wakayama Prefecture | Makoto Okuda (Indp) (N) | [76] | |
| Kotoura | Tottori Prefecture | Mariko Fukumoto (Indp) (R) | [77] | |
| Chikujo | Fukuoka Prefecture | Teruo Furuichi (Indp) (N) | [78] | |
| Kusu | Oita Prefecture | Masakazu Yadotori (Indp) (R) | [79] | |
| Soni | Nara Prefecture | Tadahiro Hosoya (Indp) (N) | [B][80] | |
| Kuma | Kumamoto Prefecture | Yoshikazu Oiwa (Indp) (N) | [81] |
February
Legend:
- R - Re-elected
- N - Newcomer
| Date[82] | City/Town/Village[82] | Prefecture[82] | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 February | Takahagi | Ibaraki Prefecture | Natsunori Obe (Indp) (R) | [83] |
| Kawaguchi | Saitama Prefecture | Yuriko Okamura (Indp) (N) | [84] | |
| Gifu | Gifu Prefecture | Masanao Shibahashi (Indp) (R) | [85] | |
| Kinokawa | Wakayama Prefecture | Ken Kishimoto (Indp) (R) | [B][86] | |
| Aridagawa | Sakato Tokuhiko (Indp) (N) | [87] | ||
| Higashihiroshima | Hiroshima Prefecture | Hironori Takagaki (Indp) (R) | [88] | |
| Itoshima | Fukuoka Prefecture | Yuji Tsukigata (Indp) (R) | [89] | |
| Shibushi | Kagoshima Prefecture | Shimodaira Haruyuki (Indp) (R) | [90] | |
| Odai | Mie Prefecture | Hiromi Uese (Indp) (N) | [91] | |
| Misato | Miyazaki Prefecture | Nagao Taku (Indp) (N) | [92] | |
| Otaki | Nagano Prefecture | Michihiro Koshihara (Indp) (R) | [B][93] | |
| 8 February | Osaka | Osaka Prefecture | Hideyuki Yokoyama (One Osaka) (R) | |
| Sosa | Chiba Prefecture | Yasuyuki Miyauchi (Indp) (R) | ||
| Namerikawa | Toyama Prefecture | Tatsuo Mizuno (Indp) (N) | [B][94] | |
| Echizen | Fukui Prefecture | Toru Hirabayashi (Indp) (N) | [B][95] | |
| Nagahama | Shiga Prefecture | Nobuyoshi Asami (Indp) (R) | ||
| Tsuyama | Okayama Prefecture | Satoshi Mitsui (Indp) (N) | ||
| Minamata | Kumamoto Prefecture | Toshiharu Kataoka (Indp) (R) | ||
| Rifu | Miyagi Prefecture | Yutaka Kumagai (Indp) (R) | ||
| Sakai | Ibaraki Prefecture | Masahiro Hashimoto (Indp) (R) | ||
| Tokigawa | Saitama Prefecture | Sakae Maeda (Indp) (N) | ||
| Ono | Gifu Prefecture | Kozo Usami (Indp) (R) | ||
| Wakasa | Tottori Prefecture | Motoharu Kamikawa (Indp) (R) | [B] | |
| Hino | Hiromu Kondo (Indp) (N) | [B] | ||
| Yomitan | Okinawa Prefecture | Atsushi Iha (Indp) (N) | ||
| 15 February | Rumoi | Hokkaido Prefecture | Katsumi Masuda (Indp) (N) | |
| Yotsukaido | Chiba Prefecture | Yosuke Suzuki (Indp) (R) | [B] | |
| Machida | Tokyo Metropolis | Koji Inagaki (Indp) (N) | ||
| Rokkasho | Aomori Prefecture | Takaharu Hashimoto (Indp) (N) | ||
| Umi | Fukuoka Prefecture | Shigenobu Yasukawa (Indp) (R) | [B] | |
| 22 February | Yukuhashi | Masahiro Kudo (Indp) (R) | ||
| Komaki | Aichi Prefecture | Masaki Amano (Indp) (N) | [B] | |
| Kamoenai | Hokkaido Prefecture | Masayuki Takahashi (Indp) (R) | ||
| Ami | Ibaraki Prefecture | Shigeru Chiba (Indp) (R) | ||
| Eiheiji | Fukui Prefecture | Hisamitsu Kawai (Indp) (R) | [B] | |
| Aisho | Shiga Prefecture | Kunitomo Arimura (Indp) (R) | ||
| Nankan | Kumamoto Prefecture | Yasuhiko Sato (Indp) (R) | ||
March
Legend:
- R - Re-elected
- N - Newcomer
| Date[82] | City/Town/Village[82] | Prefecture[82] | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 March | Oirase | Aomori Prefecture | Mitsuhisa Narita (Indp) (N) | |
| Kanegasaki | Iwate Prefecture | Fumihiro Takahashi (Indp) (N) | ||
| Nishigo | Fukushima Prefecture | Hiroshi Takahashi (Indp) (R) | ||
| Koumi | Nagano Prefecture | Hiroshi Kurosawa (Indp) (R) | [B] | |
| Shintomi | Miyazaki Prefecture | Soji Kojima (Indp) (R) | [B] | |
April
Legend:
- R – Re-elected
- N – Newcomer
| Date | City/Town/Village | Prefecture | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 April | Tsubata | Ishikawa Prefecture | ||
| Yosano | Kyoto Prefecture | |||
| Kin | Okinawa Prefecture | |||
| Wake | Okayama Prefecture | |||
| Esashi | Hokkaido Prefecture | |||
| Kuriyama | ||||
See also
- 2026 in Japan
- Other elections in Japan