In 2026, numerous local elections are scheduled to be held in Japan outside the unified local elections in 2023 and 2027, including 13 gubernatorial elections and other local elections, due to term expiry.
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The Japanese political process has two types of elections.
While the national level features a parliamentary system of government where the head of government is elected indirectly by the legislature, prefectures and municipalities employ a presidential system where chief executives and legislative assemblies are directly elected, independently from each other. Many of the prefectural and municipal elections are held together in unified local elections (統一地方選挙, Tōitsu chihō senkyo) since 1947, held in years before leap years; [1] but since each election cycle of every chief executive or assembly of any prefecture or municipality is independent and not reset after resignations/deaths/recalls/no-confidence votes/dissolutions/municipal mergers, there are also many non-unified local elections today. Prefectural and municipal assemblies are unicameral, the National Diet is bicameral, with the two houses on independent election cycles.
At least 13 gubernatorial elections are scheduled to be held in 2026.
The 2026 Fukui gubernatorial election was held on 25 January 2026. [2]
Incumbent Tatsuji Sugimoto stepped down from office on 4 December 2025 following allegations of sexual harassing staff using texts. [3]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| 25 January 2026 | Vacant [A] | None | Takato Ishida | Independent | ||
| Sources: [3] | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent (Sanseitō) | Takato Ishida | 134,620 | 47.97 | new | |
| Independent | Ken'ichi Yamada | 130,290 | 46.43 | new | |
| JCP | Kanemoto Yukie | 15,735 | 5.61 | ||
| Registered electors | 610,925 | ||||
The 2026 Yamaguchi gubernatorial election was held on 8 February 2026. [5]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| 8 February 2026 | Tsugumasa Muraoka | Independent | Tsugumasa Muraoka | Independent | ||
| Sources: [6] | ||||||
| Candidates | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tsugumasa Muraoka (Incumbent) | Independent | 414,839 | 69.1 | |
| Machiko Arichika | Independent | 156,398 | 26.1 | |
| Masako Okubo | Independent | 28,997 | 4.8 | |
| Sources: [7] | ||||
The 2026 Nagasaki gubernatorial election was held on 8 February 2026. [8]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| 8 February 2026 | Kengo Oishi | Independent | Ken Hirata | Independent | ||
| Sources: | ||||||
| Candidates | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Hirata | Independent | 287,134 | 48.3 | ||
| Kengo Oishi (Incumbent) | Independent | 280,346 | 47.2 | ||
| Ryosuke Tsutsui | Independent | 26,390 | 4.4 | ||
| Sources: [9] | |||||
The 2026 Osaka gubernatorial election was held on 8 February 2026. Incumbent governor Hirofumi Yoshimura resigned on 22 January 2025. [10]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| 8 February 2026 | Hirofumi Yoshimura [B] | Ishin | Hirofumi Yoshimura | Ishin | ||
| Sources: | [11] | |||||
| Candidates | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hirofumi Yoshimura | Ishin (Incumbent) | 3,024,106 | 83.2 | ||
| Tsuneki Onishi | Independent | 452,807 | 12.5 | ||
| Tamotsu Noto | Independent | 155,855 | 4.3 | ||
| Sources: [12] | |||||
The 2026 Ishikawa gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held on 8 March 2026. [13]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| 8 March 2026 | Hiroshi Hase | Independent | TBA | |||
| Sources: | ||||||
| Candidates [C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hiroshi Hase (Incumbent) | Independent | ||||
| Yoshinori Yamano | Independent | ||||
| Sources: [13] | |||||
The 2026 Kyoto gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held on 5 April 2026. [14]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| 5 April 2026 | Takatoshi Nishiwaki | Independent | TBA | |||
| Sources: | ||||||
| Candidates [C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Takatoshi Nishiwaki (Incumbent) | Independent | ||||
| Sources: [14] | |||||
The 2026 Niigata gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held on 31 May 2026. [15]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| 31 May 2026 | Hideyo Hanazumi | Independent | TBA | |||
| Sources: [15] | ||||||
| Candidates [C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | |||||
| Sources: | |||||
If not set earlier, the 2026 Shiga gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held on 24 July 2026. [16]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| July 2026 | Taizō Mikazuki | Independent | TBA | |||
| Sources: | ||||||
| Candidates [C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | |||||
| Sources: | |||||
If not set earlier, the 2026 Nagano gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held on 31 August 2026. [17]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| August 2026 | Shuichi Abe | Independent | TBA | |||
| Sources: | ||||||
| Candidates [C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | |||||
| Sources: | |||||
If not set earlier, the 2026 Kagawa gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held on 4 September 2026. [18]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| September 2026 | Toyohito Ikeda | Independent | TBA | |||
| Sources: | ||||||
| Candidates [C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | |||||
| Sources: | |||||
If not set earlier, the 2026 Okinawa gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held on 29 September 2026. [19]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| September 2026 | Denny Tamaki | Independent | TBA | |||
| Sources: | ||||||
| Candidates [C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kosha Genta | Independent | ||||
| Sources: [20] | |||||
If not set earlier, the 2026 Fukushima gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held on 11 November 2026. [19]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| November 2026 | Masao Uchibori | Independent | TBA | |||
| Sources: | ||||||
| Candidates [C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | |||||
| Sources: | |||||
If not set earlier, the 2026 Aichi gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held on 30 November 2026. [19]
| Date | Before election | After election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Party | Governor | Party | |||
| November 2026 | Hideaki Ōmura | Independent | TBA | |||
| Sources: | ||||||
| Candidates [C] | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | |||||
| Sources: | |||||
Legend:
| Date [21] | City/Town/Village [21] | Prefecture [21] | Winner | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 January | Maebashi | Ibaraki Prefecture | Akira Ogawa (Indp) (R) | [22] [A] |
| 17 January | Wassamu | Hokkaido Prefecture | Koichiro Nakahara (Indp) N | [23] |
| 18 January | Ninohe | Iwate Prefecture | Ichio Itsuka (Indp) (N) | [24] |
| Iwaizumi | Makoto Sasaki (Indp) (N) | [25] | ||
| Minamisoma | Fukushima Prefecture | Kazuo Monma (Indp) (R) | [26] | |
| Azumino | Nagano Prefecture | Eiki Nakayama (Indp) (N) | [27] [B] | |
| Tosashimizu | Kochi Prefecture | Tetsuya Okazaki (Indp) (N) | [28] | |
| Makurazaki | Kagoshima Prefecture | Yoshinari Maeda (Indp) (R) | [29] | |
| Kusatsu | Gunma Prefecture | Kimio Miyazaki (Indp) (N) | [30] | |
| Chonan | Chiba Prefecture | Sadao Hirano (Indp) (R) | [B] [31] | |
| Otaki | Noboru Hirabayashi (Indp) (R) | [B] [32] | ||
| Takamori | Nagano Prefecture | Teruhiro Mibu (Indp) (R) | [33] | |
| Takagi | Fumihiko Sato (Indp) (N) | [34] | ||
| Satosho | Okayama Prefecture | Isao Akagi (Indp) (N) | [B] [35] | |
| Katsuura | Tokushima Prefecture | Takenori Nogami (Indp) (R) | [B] [36] | |
| Kitajima | Yasuhiro Furukawa (Indp) (R) | [B] [37] | ||
| 25 January | Hokuto | Hokkaido Prefecture | Tatsuo Ikeda (Indp) (R) | [38] |
| Hanamaki | Iwate Prefecture | Masaru Ohara | [39] | |
| Shiwa | Kamata Sen'ichi (Indp) (N) | [40] | ||
| Hirono | Masayoshi Okamoto (Indp) (R) | [B] [41] | ||
| Kitakata | Fukushima Prefecture | Chūichi Endo (Indp) (R) | [42] | |
| Date | Hiroyuki Suda (Indp) (R) | [B] [43] | ||
| Honjo | Saitama Prefecture | Yoshida Nobuyoshi (Indp) (R) | [B] [44] | |
| Fukaya | Susumu Kojima (Indp) (R) | [45] | ||
| Kamikawa | Akira Sakurazawa (Indp) (R) | [B] [46] | ||
| Taki | Mie Prefecture | Hisayuki Tsutsui (Indp) (N) | [B] [47] | |
| Kiho | Mikiya Mukai (Indp) (N) | [48] | ||
| Hadano | Kanagawa Prefecture | Masakazu Takahashi (Indp) (R) | [49] | |
| Gosen | Niigata Prefecture | Masayuki Tanabe (Indp) (R) | [B] [50] | |
| Awara | Fukui Prefecture | Mori Noritsugu (Indp) (R) | [51] | |
| Minokamo | Gifu Prefecture | Hiroto Fujii (Indp) (R) | [B] [52] | |
| Susono | Shizuoka Prefecture | Yū Murata (Indp) (R) | [53] | |
| Ayabe | Kyoto Prefecture | Gentaro Shikata (Indp) (N) | [54] | |
| Kaizuka | Osaka Prefecture | Jiro Ushio (One Osaka) (N) | [55] | |
| Mitoyo | Kagawa Prefecture | Akishi Yamashita (Indp) (R) | [B] [56] | |
| Konan | Kochi Prefecture | Gota Hamada (Indp) (R) | [B] [57] | |
| Nakatosa | Hiromitsu Ikeda (Indp) (R) | [B] [58] | ||
| Kurume | Fukuoka Prefecture | Shingo Haraguchi (Indp) (R) | [B] [59] | |
| Ureshino | Saga Prefecture | Takuya Yamaguchi (Indp) (N) | [60] | |
| Matsuura | Nagasaki Prefecture | Yoshiyasu Tomoda (Indp) (R) | [61] | |
| Miyazaki | Miyazaki Prefecture | Tomonori Kiyoyama (Indp) (R) | [62] | |
| Kanoya | Kagoshima Prefecture | Takuo Gohara (Indp) (N) | [63] | |
| Ibusuki | Akiji Uchikoshi (Indp) (R) | [B] [64] | ||
| Nago | Okinawa Prefecture | Taketoyo Toguchi (Indp) (R) | [65] | |
| Yaese | Yasuhiro Arakaki (Indp) (R) | [66] | ||
| Nanbu | Aomori Prefecture | Kudo Sukenao (Indp) (R) | [B] [67] | |
| Misato | Miyagi Prefecture | Seiichi Aizawa (Indp) (R) | [68] | |
| Tako | Chiba Prefecture | Tomiko Hirayama (Indp) (R) | [69] | |
| Tateyama | Toyama Prefecture | Takayuki Funahashi (Indp) (R) | [70] | |
| Anamizu | Ishikawa Prefecture | Mitsuteru Yoshimura (Indp) (R) | [B] [71] | |
| Kamitonda | Wakayama Prefecture | Makoto Okuda (Indp) (N) | [72] | |
| Kotoura | Tottori Prefecture | Mariko Fukumoto (Indp) (R) | [73] | |
| Chikujo | Fukuoka Prefecture | Teruo Furuichi (Indp) (N) | [74] | |
| Kusu | Oita Prefecture | Masakazu Yadotori (Indp) (R) | [75] | |
| Soni | Nara Prefecture | Tadahiro Hosoya (Indp) (N) | [B] [76] | |
| Kuma | Kumamoto Prefecture | Yoshikazu Oiwa (Indp) (N) | [77] |
Legend:
Legend:
| Date [78] | City/Town/Village [78] | Prefecture [78] | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 March | Oirase | Aomori Prefecture | ||
| Kanegasaki | Iwate Prefecture | |||
| Nishigo | Fukushima Prefecture | |||
| Koumi | Nagano Prefecture | |||
| Shintomi | Miyazaki Prefecture |