Former Yokohama Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka announces his candidacy as an independent in the mayoral election, first press conference after resignation due to power harassment

Former Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka (54) of Yokohama City, who resigned due to power harassment issues with senior staff, held a press conference in the city on the morning of the 29th and officially announced his intention to run again as an independent in the mayoral election (announced on October 4th, votes counted on October 18th). After apologizing for his actions, Yamanaka said, ``We need to promote Yokohama from the perspective of consumers. Once again, we will sincerely face the citizens.''

Former Mayor Yamanaka of Yokohama City to run for election again, resigns due to power harassment, press conference on 29th

Five newcomers have so far announced their intention to run for mayor, and Yamanaka is the sixth. The main focus will be on whether Mr. Yamanaka, who was found to be a power harasser, will be trusted again. On the other hand, Mr. Yamanaka emphasized that, regarding integrated resorts (IRs) that include casinos, ``I feel that there is a move to attract them again.We must firmly prevent this.''

Yamanaka was first elected in the August 2021 mayoral election after being recommended by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. In the 2025 mayoral election, he was re-elected with support from the three major factions of the city council: the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito, and Ritsumeikan.

In January of this year, a current city official accused Mr. Yamanaka of power harassment, and a third-party investigation report in July identified seven items of behavior toward senior officials as power harassment. Mr. Yamanaka resigned on the 7th of this month. Afterwards, as each party moved to field new candidates, some members of the local business community came out in support of Mr. Yamanaka.