SAPPORO – Sapporo’s mayoral race is taking shape after Katsuhiro Akimoto announced he will not seek a fourth term next spring. The city’s next leader will face questions that include whether to revive Sapporo’s Olympic ambitions and how to respond to a foreign population that has nearly tripled since Akimoto’s first term. Akimoto, who was first elected in 2015 on pledges to expand the city’s economy through tourism, said he decided not to seek another term partly because he felt he had accomplished what he set out to do.
The city’s tourism sector has grown significantly during his tenure. Tourism revenue in Sapporo reached a record ¥761.7 billion in fiscal 2025, a 9.7% increase over the previous fiscal year. More than 16 million people visited the city, up 5.2% from fiscal 2024 and surpassing the previous record of about 15.8 million set in fiscal 2018.
There were just under 2.5 million foreign overnight guests in fiscal 2025, a 14.1% increase from the previous year and nearly matching the fiscal 2018 record of roughly 2.7 million. Akimoto highlighted the increase in tax revenue, which rose to ¥360 billion, saying, “There have been some achievements in terms of increased economic growth and increased employment,” in his Sept. 2 announcement that he would not seek reelection. Two major candidates to succeed Akimoto have already declared their candidacies.
Yutaka Arai, a former Lower House member with the Centrist Reform Alliance — which effectively split up in September — who lost his Diet seat in the February election, formally announced his candidacy on Sept. 8. The Liberal Democratic Party’s Sapporo branch, meanwhile, has selected city council member Yoshitaka Ban as its recommended candidate. Ban served as the political secretary to Upper House lawmaker Seiko Hashimoto, a former Winter and Summer Olympian and the current president of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC).
The Olympics could loom large for Sapporo’s next mayor. Akimoto pursued a bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics, but the effort was ultimately abandoned amid local opposition, concerns over the cost of hosting the Games and public distrust following corruption and bid-rigging scandals surrounding the Tokyo Olympics. Hashimoto, however, said in September that Japan should consider making another bid.
A future bid could take a different form from the previous Sapporo-centered effort, potentially involving venues in multiple municipalities and regions. However, such a bid would not be launched anytime soon. The French Alps will host the 2030 Winter Games, followed by Salt Lake City/Utah in 2034.
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