The governor of Shizuoka Prefecture tendered his resignation Wednesday following a backlash over his belittling comments about farmers and vegetable sellers.
Heita Kawakatsu will automatically vacate his post 30 days after the submission and a gubernatorial election will be called, with official campaigning likely to kick off on May 9 for voting on May 26.
The 75-year-old has been under fire since telling new prefectural government employees on April 1 that they are intelligent people "unlike those who sell vegetables, raise cows and make things."
Following public criticism, Kawakatsu declared the following day that he would resign when the prefectural assembly meets in June, but he later decided to expedite the process. He also retracted his comments on Friday and apologized.
Shinichi Omura, a 60-year-old former internal affairs ministry official who has previously served as deputy governor of the prefecture, declared Monday he will run in the gubernatorial race as an independent. Yasutomo Suzuki, the 66-year-old former mayor of Hamamatsu in the prefecture, is also considering running.
Kawakatsu, a former professor at Waseda University who served as president of Shizuoka University of Art and Culture, first took office in 2009 and is in his fourth term.
He has long opposed Central Japan Railway Co.'s high-speed maglev train project to connect Tokyo and Osaka via northern Shizuoka Prefecture, citing concern over its environmental impact.
His opposition led JR Central to announce last month it will push back the train's debut from 2027 to 2034 or beyond, a factor Kawakatsu mentioned as one of the reasons for his resignation, along with his remarks.
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Shizuoka gov. to quit as maglev plan delayed, not to retract comments
