Yokohama held its mayoral election on Sunday, and Atsumi Harasawa, a 59-year-old lawyer and first-time candidate, has been projected as the winner, according to 読売新聞. She defeated six other candidates, among them former mayor Takeharu Yamanaka, whose resignation triggered the vote.
The election followed findings that Yamanaka, 54, had committed power harassment against city employees. 読売新聞 reports that Harasawa's campaign stressed her familiarity with compliance, drawing on risk-management experience gained as an outside corporate director. She was backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — the city assembly groups that had pressed Yamanaka to step down — as well as by Nippon Ishin no Kai and the Democratic Party for the People.
Yamanaka apologized for the harassment and pointed to his record across two terms and five years, including making medical care free for children aged 18 and under, and he argued for continuity in city government. Even so, criticism proved too strong over conduct that was found to include remarks denying staff members' dignity and a ban on their entering the mayor's office, and he was unable to return to the post.
Turnout was 45.56 percent, up from 41.64 percent in the previous election in 2025, 読売新聞 reported. TBS NEWS DIG reported that more than 80 percent of voters surveyed in exit polling said harassment was a factor in how they cast their ballots.
With the result clear, attention now turns to how Harasawa assembles her administration and addresses staff treatment at city hall.