The 2018 Niigata gubernatorial election was held on 10 June 2018 to elect the next governor of Niigata. Incumbent Governor Ryuichi Yoneyama resigned on 18 April 2018 in the wake of a sex scandal. This was also the first gubernatorial election in Niigata since the voting age was lowered to 18.
The election was initially expected to be a de facto referendum on the anti-nuclear policies pursued by Gov. Yoneyama, particularly his opposition to the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Central Niigata. Both the pro-nuclear and the anti-nuclear camps are coalescing towards one candidate to represent each camp. The pro-nuclear camp will be represented by Hideyo Hanazumi, who is endorsed by the governing LDP and Komeito. Anti-nuclear Chikako Ikeda will be the opposition's unity candidate in the election.
In contrary to the policy of the parties that endorsed him, Hanazumi followed the opposition's line on nuclear energy, not unlike the one held by the incumbent governor. Hanazumi won the gubernatorial election by a narrow 3.4% margin. He vowed to continue Governor Yoneyama's approach on the issue of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant restart and related safety evaluations. In his victory speech, he also mentioned the possibility of resigning and holding another election mid-term to ask the populace whether the reactor should be restarted or not.
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