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TOKYO Pas Cher Chaussures Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Noir Verte , Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Competition between candidates for the Feb. 9 Tokyo gubernatorial election heated up Thursday as official campaigning for the governor position kicked off.


But in contrast to previous elections, most notably in November 2012 when Naoki Inose became governor of Japan's capital, analysts are saying this is not a one-horse race.


While there seems to be favorites among the public according to unofficial polls, the election could go down to the wire and is shaping up to be something of a proxy battle between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, observers said.


Abe has urged the candidates to focus on issues such as the 2020 Olympics and the social welfare of the city, rather than making the election a referendum on nuclear energy, which has threatened to become the sole theme of the race.


But as analysts have asserted Pas Cher Chaussures Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Fleuribomb Noir Colorful , Abe will be less concerned with stump-speech content and far more concerned with the overall outcome, in light of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) predicament at the moment.


"LDP members are becoming increasingly concerned that their party is losing ground of late as two local mayoral elections were lost to candidates whose ideals better reflected those of the public," political analyst Teruhisa Muramatsu told Xinhua.


Muramatsu was talking about the Nago mayoral election on Jan. 19, which saw incumbent Susumu Inamine, a staunch opponent of relocating a controversial U.S. air base to the Henoko district of his city, defeat the LDP's candidate, much to the ruling party's consternation.


Katsunobu Sakurai Pas Cher Chaussures Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Grise Noir , whose anti-nuclear platform secured his reelection as mayor of Minami-Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, where mass-evacuations occurred after the nuclear meltdown in the prefecture in 2011, also defeated candidates backed by LDP lawmakers.


"The ruling party are concerned that they are losing their grip at a local level as they have lost almost 10 local government elections in the past 10-months, some in areas who have started to lose faith in the prime minister's signature 'Abenomics' economic policy, others who are bemused at the LDP's far-right leanings."


"In some regards, the Tokyo governor elections and other upcoming local elections are all litmus tests for the nationwide local elections next spring and it's fair to assume Abe and the LDP will be somewhat nervous at this stage Pas Cher Chaussures Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Noir Pourpre , as the effects on the ruling administration could be significant," Muramatsu said.


According to local analysts, former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, 76, and former health minister Yoichi Masuzoe, 65, are the favorites to win the election Chaussures Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 Pirate Black B35305 Pas Cher , with Kenji Utsunomiya, 67, the former president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations and former Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) chief Toshio Tamogami, 65, seen as the second and third-tier candidates respectively.


Hosokawa, who was in power two decades ago, has been backed by Koizumi Chaussures Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 Pirate Black AQ2659 Pas Cher , one of Japan's longest-serving leaders, who still garners a huge amount of popular support in here.


The pair, who are on the campaign trail together, are trumpeting the virtues of a non-nuclear Japan and for Abe this could prove to be a headache.


If Hosokawa's campaign proves successful, Abe's plans to restart Japan's idled nuclear reactors could deal the prime minister and the LDP's corporate affiliates a severe blow, as Tokyo is essentially Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s (TEPCO), operator of the stricken nuclear facility in Fukushima Prefecture Chaussures Adidas Superstar Supercolor Pack Jaune B32712 Pas Cher , biggest customer.


Hosokawa vowed Thursday that if elected he would chart a course for Japan to steer towards renewable and environmentally-friendly forms of energy and move away from nuclear power as soon as possible.


Koizumi underpinned his nominee's sentiments by saying that a shift in energy policy could show the world that Japan is a country that respects the environment and can thrive without the need for nuclear power.


The former prime minister also said that the next governor of Tokyo could have the potential to steer national policy on the matter.


"What happens to Tokyo has national implications. Tokyo is the center of Japan and whoever runs Tokyo has a platform to weigh in on national decisions," Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University was quoted as saying in a recent editorial on the matter.


Political observers also believe that the current election should be viewed from the broadest political perspective and has significant implications that reach far beyond the nation's major metropolis.


They believe that the gubernatorial election process and the subsequent knock-on effects could be a consequential turning point in solidifying or weakening the current administration's power base and the balance of power between parties.


"Hosokawa will be courting opposition parties for their support, whether this happens publicly or behind closed doors, and these parties, factions, coteries or individuals will share his concerns about nuclear power Chaussures Femme Adidas Superstar Supercolor Pack Rose S41829 Pas Cher ," said political affairs commentator Hirohisa Suzuki.


"As part of a longer-term political realignment, Hosokawa is probably looking to the Democratic Party of Japan, the People's Life Party and, indeed, elements in the Japan Restoration Party, as lawmakers who belonged to his former Japan New Party have shown their interest in supporting his campaign, and Abe and the LDP will need to be mindful of this as there has been precedence for Tokyo governors to force the central government's hand in certain situations Chaussures Adidas Superstar Pharrell Williams Supercolor Pack Noir S41899 Pas Cher ," Suzuki told Xinhua.


As a number of observers see this as a battle between Koizumi and Abe's surrogates, and one which could potentially divide the ruling administration over the sensitive issue of energy policy, Abe has thrown his support behind former television commentator- turned politician Masuzoe.