Lawyer Atsumi Harasawa won her first term as Yokohama mayor, defeating six rivals, including scandal-hit former Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka, in Sunday’s election. The mayoral election in the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture was held after Yamanaka’s resignation in September over a workplace harassment scandal. Voter turnout came to 45.56%, up from 41.64% in the previous election.
Harasawa, 59, was supported by the Kanagawa prefectural chapters of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Japan Innovation Party and the Democratic Party for the People, as well as Komeito’s city assembly members. During the election campaign, she called for rebuilding the city’s administration, pledging to improve disaster preparedness and strengthen the city’s financial base while drawing on her experience as a lawyer. Yamanaka, 54, apologized for his involvement in the power harassment scandal, while highlighting his achievements during his term in office.
Yamanaka was first elected mayor in August 2021, backed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. He won reelection in 2025 with support from the LDP, Komeito and CDP local organizations. In July this year, a third-party investigation confirmed cases of power harassment by Yamanaka, prompting him to resign.
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