Photo/Illutration Ai Seike, center, celebrates her win in Tokyo’s Minato Ward mayor election on June 2. (Yumi Nakayama)

Independent politician Ai Seike narrowly won the mayoral election in Tokyo’s Minato Ward over long-time incumbent Masaaki Takei, the latest in a string of losing candidates supported by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Seike, 49, a former Minato Ward assembly member, gained 29,651 votes on June 2, compared with 28,123 ballots for Takei, 71, and 3,070 for Masahiko Kikuchi, 71, a former Tokyo metropolitan assembly member.

Turnout among the 200,617 eligible voters in the central Tokyo ward was 30.62 percent, slightly more than 30.04 percent in the previous election.

The focus of the election was on the length of service of Takei, who was seeking his sixth term with the support of the LDP and its coalition partner, Komeito.

“Minato Ward’s outdated administration has to change,” Seike said during her campaign.

She made a pledge to adopt an ordinance to limit the number of terms a mayor can serve.

On the other hand, Takei boasted of his achievements during his 20 years in office.

But he fell short on election day, and some have pointed the blame at the ruling party.

Voters around the nation have punished the LDP since its intraparty factions became embroiled in a political fund scandal.

The party lost seats in three Lower House by-elections in April, while candidates backed by the LDP failed in the Shizuoka prefectural governor election in May and the Odawara mayoral election in Kanagawa Prefecture in the same month.

Wary of the trend, Takei’s campaign office did not emphasize the LDP’s support during the mayoral election. 

Just after 11 p.m. on June 2, the latest vote count came in, and senior officials of Takei’s campaign office acknowledged his defeat, drawing sighs from his supporters.

Takei later appeared, bowed his head deeply and apologized to his supporters.

When asked by reporters for the reason behind his loss, Takei said: “I can’t figure it out. But anyhow, the citizens of Minato Ward chose this result.”

An LDP ward assembly member suggested one cause for the end of Takei’s long run as mayor.

“Eleven ward assembly members of the LDP together served as an engine for Takei’s campaign. But when both positives and negatives are considered, I don’t know if the balance worked in his favor,” he said.

“Our support may have dragged down his campaign,” he added.

Seike, looking back on the election and forward to her first term as mayor, told reporters: “I don’t particularly feel that there was a backlash against the LDP. It was an election fought by citizens, not by political parties.”

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