Suga on the ropes: Japan mayoral race bellwether for re-election bid

Embattled prime minister counts on victory to change political winds

20210819 Yokohama minatomirai area and Suga

Sunday's election in Yokohama, Japan's second-largest city and Suga's home turf, has turned into a proxy battle for national politics. (NIkkei montage/Arisa Moriyama and Kei Higuchi)

NAOYA YOSHINO, Nikkei political editor

TOKYO -- A mayoral candidate with an endorsement from a sitting prime minister should coast to an easy victory. 

But in the run-up to Sunday's Yokohama mayoral race, Hachiro Okonogi, a former national public security chief with the full backing of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, is waging a fierce battle against rival candidates. 

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