Running for office are five candidates. They include Hidehiko Yuzaki, a 44-year-old former trade ministry bureaucrat backed by Fujita supporters among Liberal Democratic Party members in the prefectural assembly, as well as by Democratic Party of Japan members.

Also in the race is Anri Kawai, a 36-year-old former prefectural assemblywoman endorsed by LDP assembly members, who are critical of the Fujita administration, as well as by Shizuka Kamei, state minister in charge of postal and financial affairs and also the leader of the People's New Party.

The three other candidates are Shoji Murakami, 62, fielded by the Japanese Communist Party, Michiko Shibasaki, 54, a former prefectural assembly member, and Yasuhiro Kawamoto, 42, a cram school operator.

The outcome of the polling is expected to become clear by late Sunday night.

The focus of the election is whether voters will choose someone who will continue to pursue the administrative and financial reform drive initiated by Fujita, 60, who governed the western Japan prefecture for 16 years.

The voter turnout as of 11 a.m. stood at 8.83 percent, up 2.84 percentage points, compared with the same point in time during the previous election four years ago, according to the local election committee.