TOKYO, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Campaigning for the gubernatorial election next month in Iwate Prefecture, in northeastern Japan, kicked off Thursday.
The election, to be held on Sept. 8, is the first gubernatorial contest in Iwate in eight years, with the focus very much on continued reconstruction efforts in the region, in the wake of the the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.
Takuya Tasso, 55, who is currently serving his third term since being elected unopposed in 2015, has the backing of four opposition parties and has pledged to bolster reconstruction initiatives.
"We are still in the middle of reconstruction from the disaster," Tasso was quoted as saying in Morioka. "We will work to provide psychological and physical care to disaster victims, while making progress in building infrastructure," he added.
Tasso's challenger is Atsushi Oikawa, 52, a former local assemblyman who is supported by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party as well as the local chapter of the ruling party's coalition partner Komeito.
Oikawa has taken aim at his opponent for not forging better ties with the central government and if elected he has said he will petition Tokyo to provide fresh fiscal support to cover the region's total reconstruction costs.
