Tokyo governor race kicks off with focus on nuclear power

The race to become the next governor of Tokyo kicked off Thursday in an election widely seen as a referendum on Japan's energy policy, almost three years after the nuclear disaster at Fukushima.

Observers say the election on February 9 will be a two-horse race between the anti-nuclear former prime minister Morihiro Hosokawa and Yoichi Masuzoe, an academic and former health minister, who served as a member of a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) government.

"We have to stop (the policy of) restarting nuclear plants as soon as possible and adapt to a new era," Hosokawa said on the campaign trail Thursday.
[link to www.nuclearpowerdaily.com]
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