Hirata wins Nagasaki elections amid unresolved IR bid
Ken Hirata has won the Nagasaki Prefecture gubernatorial election, defeating incumbent Kengo Oishi and securing 287,134 votes, according to verified electoral data cited by The Japan Times. Oishi received 280,346 votes, while voter turnout reached 57.27 percent, up from 47.83 percent in the previous 2022 election.
Hirata had run as an independent candidate; he had served as vice governor of Nagasaki Prefecture. Although the exact dates of his serving as vice governor cannot be confirmed from available records, media reports from the likes of ADN Kronos describe him as serving in that position before contesting for governor.
Oishi, representing the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has been the incumbent governor, and this was before the election took place. There was also a third independent candidate who took part in this election process, although information on voting for all other candidates was not emphasised.
The 2026 election saw increased voter engagement. Turnout increased to 57.27 percent from 47.83 percent in 2022. This is an increased level of voter participation for the gubernatorial election in the prefecture. Analysing the historical trend shows that voter turnout in Nagasaki tends to bounce around from one election to another.
Historical IR context
Nagasaki Prefecture had an existing integrated resort (IR) master plan, which included casino games under Japan’s Integrated Resort Development Act, enacted in 2018. The integrated resort had facilities for tourism, conferences, and exhibitions. Local planning aligned with national law, and a joint council between Nagasaki Prefecture and Sasebo City coordinated early development efforts, with initial discussions dating back to 2013.
The prefecture partnered with Casinos Austria International (CAI) through the Kyushu Resorts Japan consortium, formalising the collaboration ahead of Nagasaki Assembly approval in April 2022 and the bid submission in September 2022.
The bid was submitted to Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) on 23 September 2022, but was rejected on 27 December 2023. The rejection has been informed, amongst other reasons, by poor funding certainty as well as issues of sustainable operation of casinos, including those of investors and the detrimental effects.
In late 2024, the city of Nagasaki received a questionnaire from the government related to its IR policy in the following areas: economic impact and operational planning. Prefectural leaders have indicated they may consider a revised bid if a second national application window opens, though as of late 2025, no Cabinet or national notice has been published specifying dates or deadlines.
Immediate outcome
After the results have been declared, Hirata is set to transition to his new role as the new governor of Nagasaki Prefecture. This will be done in the normal course of prefectural elections, in which the handover and briefing of the new governor will be facilitated. This marks the end of a keenly contested race, during which the two front-runners were only divided by a razor’s edge.
The 2026 Nagasaki gubernatorial election demonstrates the fluidity of local politics in the prefectures of Japan. The addition of the relevant historical IR context offers additional insight into the politics of the prefecture, while official electoral data verifies the result of the voting process, which saw the change in leadership.
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