Heita Kawakatsu, fresh off his election as governor of Shizuoka with backing from the Democratic Party of Japan, expressed confidence July 6 that his victory will affect the course of events in national politics in the months ahead.

Heita Kawakatsu KYODO PHOTO

In a close race July 5, Kawakatsu, 60, who was also supported by the Social Democratic Party and Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party), defeated Yukiko Sakamoto, 60, backed by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, and two other candidates.

"Shizuoka Prefecture, a ruling party stronghold, has changed. This will surely affect national politics," Kawakatsu said at a news conference the morning after his victory. "I sensed voters' expectations for the DPJ during campaigning."

Political observers agreed that his victory will provide momentum not only to the DPJ but also to those within the LDP calling for Aso to step down.

"The result was a great shock to Aso as there had been a good chance of victory this time for the ruling coalition," said Yoshikazu Sakamoto, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Tokyo.

"Aso has lost his power in terms of political leadership," the professor said. "Nothing appears to show his authority now except for his power to dissolve the Diet."

The Shizuoka election was the fourth consecutive victory by a DPJ-backed candidate in local elections, following mayoral campaigns in Nagoya, Saitama and Chiba.

The voter turnout was 61.06 percent, up 16.57 percentage points from the previous gubernatorial election. Kawakatsu got 728,706 votes to 713,654 ballots for to Yukiko Sakamoto.