Yoichi Masuzoe (second from right) gives a speech to supporters during his election campaign for Tokyo governor on February 2. Photo: Xie Wenting/GT

The government-backed pro-nuclear frontrunner Yoichi Masuzoe was elected as the new governor of Tokyo on Sunday, defeating his key rival Morihiro Hosokawa, who is against restarting nuclear energy in the country, Japanese media reported.

Exit polls by public broadcaster NHK and other media showed Masuzoe, a former television personality and one-time cabinet minister, came out top despite a relatively low turnout.

Turnout was put at around 34 percent half an hour before the polls closed, more than 10 percentage points down from the previous election in the megacity, which suffered its heaviest snowfall for nearly half a century on Saturday.

The vote was called when the previous governor resigned after admitting he had been naive to accept 50 million yen ($500,000) from a scandal-mired hospital magnate.

There were 16 candidates for the post, but the election had been viewed as a battle between Masuzoe, 65, backed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and former prime minister Hosokawa, 76, who was supported by popular former prime minister Koizumi Junichiro.

"Abe's popularity and the support from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have determined Masuzoe's success. The LDP has a solid foundation in Tokyo which is hard to shake by individual voters," Cai Liang, an expert on Japan with the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times.

Nuclear fallout

The election of the former health minister Masuzoe is a relief to Abe's worries about his nuclear plant restart plan as Masuzoe firmly stands on his side on the issue. Abe, who wants to restart the operation of Japan's idled commercial reactors as a way to rejuvenate the Japanese economy, gave his backing to Masuzoe.

The nuclear issue had been the focus of division between Masuzoe and Hosokawa.

A Global Times reporter witnessed a fierce contest between Masuzoe and Hosokawa on February 2 as the two made speeches at a bustling crossing in Ginza, Tokyo's famous shopping district.

"I'll vote for Morihiro Hosokawa. He is the person who really cares about people and our safety," a man in his early 30s told the Global Times, insisting on anonymity.

The nuclear issue has aroused nationwide attention after Japan was hit by the devastating accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in 2011.

According to The Japan Times, based on the data of Hotlink Inc between January 23 and February 2, the "nuclear power" became the hottest topic with around 214,000 social media posts, followed by the Olympic Games with about 39,000 posts and around 29,000 on welfare and aging issues.

"If Tokyo says no to nuclear power, it can change the future of Japan! The whole world is watching! It wants to know, can Japan change?" exclaimed Hosokawa in Ginza, which was met with cheers and applause.

After an inspiring speech by Hosokawa, Junichiro said, "We will have Japan develop without nuclear plants."

The former prime minister also apologized for being so supportive of developing nuclear energy during his incumbency, exclaiming that as a politician he realized and admitted his mistake. This won much sympathy and support as many people waved green cloth or placards that echoed his sentiment.

Mamoru Ishida, an expert on the Sino-Japanese relationship, told the Global Times that "zero nuclear" is a mainstream view around Japan, but it will have a short- to medium-term adverse impact on the economy.

"Japan's import bill for oil and gas has contributed significantly to its widening trade deficit. By using imported oil and gas to make good of no nuclear energy, which is cheap in the short-run, the cost edges of Japanese industries are adversely affected," noted Ishida.

Role for Beijing

Masuzoe and Abe had tried to make clear their stance that it is unwise to highlight the nuclear issue in the Tokyo governor election and raised other issues including the Tokyo Olympic Games, social welfare, Japan's aging society and women's employment.

Masuzoe stressed that his primary focus is to make Tokyo the world's No.1 city by holding the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020, as Tokyo currently ranks fourth in one list of metropolitan cities worldwide, after London, Paris and New York. No.4 is a rank that cannot have medal, he told supporters.

While the election of Tokyo's governor is a domestic affair, Sino-Japanese relations still came up during the speeches, given the importance of Tokyo as capital and its once close ties with Beijing. The election happened as the relationship between the two neighbors was deeply soured since Abe's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine on December 26 last year.

Masuzoe said in his street speech that if he was elected, he would like to seek cooperation with Beijing on tackling a series of issues such as air pollution.

 "A majority of Japanese believe that something has to be done to improve Sino-Japanese relations. Cooperation in fields such as improving air-pollution or river contamination will help in this respect. Abe has made Sino-Japanese relations worse, and he needs to improve it," said Ishida.

Yasushi Akashi, a senior Japanese diplomat, admitted in an exclusive interview with the Global Times that the election would have some bearing on Sino-Japanese relations, however the influence wouldn't be much, after all the Tokyo governor has no right to interfere on diplomatic issues.

Cai agreed with Akashi's words and pointed out the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020 as a good opportunity for Tokyo to cooperate with Beijing.

"While now Masuzoe wins, this will have little effect on Japanese politics and Sino-Japanese relationship. The most important challenge Masuzoe faces after the election is how to host a good Tokyo Olympic Games," said Cai.

Yang Zhiyi contributed to this story