Abandoned by her major backers, Osaka Gov. Fusae Ohta announced Dec. 3 she will not run for a third term in January's election. The decision ends her career as Japan's first female governor and throws open an election likely to have national repercussions.

"Given the current situation, I decided it was impossible to run," Ohta said at a news conference, where she also apologized to voters and thanked them for eight years of support.

Ohta recently received word from the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc, as well as the coalition's main rival, the Democratic Party of Japan, that they would not support her due to her entanglement in a string of financial scandals.