The 2026 Kyoto gubernatorial election was held on 5 April 2026 to elect the next governor of , a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu island.
Timeline 2026 On 10 January 2026, Incumbent governor Takatoshi Nishiwaki announced his candidacy for the governor. On 16 January 2026, Nobuo Fujii, a professor of Kyoto Kacho University, announced his candidacy for the governor. On 9 March 2026, Satoshi Hamada announced his candidacy for the governor.
Grok hoax On April 3, 2026, Kyoto-based The Kyoto Shimbun requested that the AI summary tweet of the publication's polling article about the gubernatorial election become viral on X. Grok erroneously tweeted that the Satoshi Hamada and incumbent governor Takatoshi Nishiwaki were tied in a poll conducted by the publication, despite the article stating that Nishiwaki was in the lead. According to an election watcher, the information that the chatbot gather the information was from a right-wing X account supporting Hamada.
Candidates A total of 3 candidates registered candidacies for the election. NameAgePartyTitleNobuo Fujii69IndependentProfessor of Kyoto Kacho University Takatoshi Nishiwaki70IndependentIncumbent Governor of Kyoto PrefectureSatoshi Hamada48LiberalFormer member of the House of Councillors
Results
Incumbent Nishiwaki defeated Hamada and Fujii.
+Results by municipalityMunicipalitiesTakatoshi NishiwakiSatoshi HamadaNobuo FujiiVotes%Votes%Votes%Total412,58355.46%181,99824.47%149,33020.07%KyotoKita-ku16,25849.06%8,73026.34%8,15324.60%Kamigyō-ku11,88249.90%6,26626.31%5,66623.79%Sakyō-ku21,74445.87%11,19323.61%14,46430.51%Nakagyō-ku16,51549.58%9,61828.88%7,17421.54%Higashiyama-ku4,55149.12%2,59828.04%2,11722.85%Shimogyō-ku11,34449.89%7,07831.13%4,31718.99%Minami-ku12,19049.39%7,47630.29%5,01720.33%Ukyō-ku28,99750.44%14,93125.97%13,56523.59%Fushimi-ku35,30552.46%17,73626.36%14,25421.18%Yamashina-ku17,28352.24%9,25027.96%6,54919.80%Nishikyō-ku21,62852.63%10,64725.91%8,82321.47%Fukuchiyama14,85864.52%4,76120.67%3,41014.81%Maizuru15,06561.94%6,17125.37%3,08612.69%Ayabe7,03365.87%1,84317.26%1,80116.87%Uji28,92556.37%12,09423.57%10,29820.07%Miyazu4,55970.01%1,01515.59%93814.40%Kameoka16,57563.26%5,45320.81%4,17515.93%Jōyō12,73059.92%4,56421.48%3,95018.59%Mukō9,27855.05%4,12024.44%3,45720.51%Nagaokakyō14,54855.99%6,40424.65%5,03219.37%Yawata11,43458.44%4,56223.32%3,56918.24%Kyōtanabe12,06358.04%5,38825.92%3,33416.04%Kyōtango13,03566.88%3,44817.69%3,00615.42%Nantan7,31163.34%2,05817.83%2,17318.83%Kizugawa14,51260.84%5,50523.08%3,83616.08%Otokuni DistrictŌyamazaki2,93153.22%1,32123.99%1,25522.79%Kuse DistrictKumiyama2,70363.66%93522.02%60814.32%Tsuzuki DistrictIde2,56272.64%59816.95%36710.41%Ujitawara2,23370.69%57618.23%35011.08%Sōraku DistrictKasagi40274.58%6912.80%6812.62%Wazuka1,38979.69%19211.02%1629.29%Seika7,52362.28%2,68622.24%1,87015.48%Minamiyamashiro83872.24%14112.16%18115.60%Funai DistrictKyōtamba3,98070.84%83814.92%80014.24%Yosa DistrictIne77775.80%10910.63%13913.56%Yosano7,62271.82%1,62415.30%1,36612.87%
Notes
References