In a stunning turn of events, former Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito was reelected to the prefecture¡¯s top executive office on Sunday after he had automatically lost the position following a historic no-confidence vote that was unanimously passed by the prefectural assembly in September.
The victory ¡ª which made Saito the second governor in Japan¡¯s postwar history to be reelected to the same post after losing their position due to a vote of no confidence ¡ª has nevertheless added an extra layer of uncertainty to the prefecture¡¯s governance.
The only other instance of a governor being reelected following a vote of no confidence was in 2002, when then-Nagano Gov. Yasuo Tanaka made a successful reelection bid.
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