The incumbent since 1999, Governor
Shintaro Ishihara suddenly resigned from office to return to national politics ahead of the
then-looming next general election. A field of nine candidates emerged, with the front-runner being
Naoki Inose, who had been vice-governor under Ishihara from 2007 to 2012, and then acting governor after Ishihara's abrupt resignation. Inose vowed to follow Ishihara's policies.
Candidates •
Mac Akasaka (real name: Makoto Tonami) - Therapist, activist, perennial candidate. Founder and leader of the
Smile Party. • Masaichi Igarashi - Member of the board of directors of an international exchange body. •
Naoki Inose - Journalist, historian, social critic. Then vice-governor of Tokyo and acting governor. •
Shigefumi Matsuzawa - Former governor of
Kanagawa Prefecture. •
Yoshiro Nakamatsu (Dr. NakaMats)- Inventor, perennial candidate. •
Takashi Sasagawa - Former
LDP General Council Chairman. • Tokuma Suginomori (TOKMA) - Rock musician. Director of the
Happiness Realization Party's youth division. •
Kenji Utsunomiya - Lawyer. Former head of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations from 2010 to 2012. • Shigenobu Yoshida - Former Japanese ambassador to
Nepal.
AKB48's
Minami Takahashi,
Tomomi Itano and
Yui Yokoyama (also of
NMB48) were appointed as image characters. ==Result==