Akiko Domoto

The two other candidates were Kensaku Morita, 55, an actor and former Lower House member backed by the prefectural chapter of the Liberal-Democratic Party, and Yasutaro Yamada, 62, a lawyer supported by the Japanese Communist Party.

Kensaku Morita

Domoto garnered 960,125 votes, or 46.23 percent of all valid votes cast, while Morita got 954,039, or 45.94 percent, and Yamada 162,684, or 7.83 percent.

Domoto was supported by the local chapters of the Democratic Party of Japan, New Komeito and the Social Democratic Party. All three candidates officially ran as independents.

The Japan Times Weekly: March 19, 2005
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