The Japanese village of Minamimaki, Nagano held a mayoral election on November 11, 2007. Yukihiko Kikuchi defeated the incumbent mayor, Yoshito Nakajima.
Candidates
- Yoshito Nakajima – Incumbent mayor of Minamimaki.
- Yukihiko Kikuchi – A 65-year-old farmer, former three-term village assembly member, and affiliate of the Japanese Communist Party (JCP), who ran as an independent.
Issues
The central issue of the election was the proposed merger of Minamimaki Village with the neighboring village of Kawakami. In a referendum held earlier in 2007, 87% of voters opposed the merger. Incumbent mayor Yoshito Nakajima supported the merger, while Yukihiko Kikuchi opposed it. Kikuchi also called for an "agriculture revitalization" program and criticized what he described as the "undemocratic policies" of the incumbent mayor.
Results
Yukihiko Kikuchi won the election, receiving 1,337 votes against Yoshito Nakajima's 907 votes — a margin of 430 votes. Voter turnout was 85.45%, with 2,296 ballots cast out of approximately 2,700 eligible voters.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent (JCP-affiliated) | Yukihiko Kikuchi | 1,337 | — |
| Independent | Yoshito Nakajima | 907 | — |
| Total valid votes | 2,244 | ||
| Turnout | 2,296 | 85.45% |
References
- Results from JanJan (in Japanese)
- Japan Press coverage
