Yoichi Masuzoe¡¯s ability to address a wide range of issues and the failure of his rivals to keep the public¡¯s attention focused on nuclear energy were the keys to his victory in Sunday¡¯s Tokyo gubernatorial election, experts say.
¡°The pledges on which Masuzoe put emphasis were comprehensive, and he didn¡¯t repeat one particular issue,¡± Meiji University professor Yasushi Aoyama said. ¡°He gave voters the impression he would be a governor with a sense of stability.¡±
Aoyama said Masuzoe succeeded in placing himself in the middle of the road on the issues, with former radical Air Self-Defense Force Gen. Toshio Tamogami on one side and anti-nuclear former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa and lawyer Kenji Utsunomiya on the other.
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