Ito, who saw his support drop to 44.5% from the 66.3% he received in the two-candidate 2012 election, avoided speculating on the reasons for his loss during a speech he made on the night of the election. He stated that he had left the prefecture in a "perfect condition" during his twelve years of office and had a strong conviction that only he could properly handle the next few years. He admitted that he "forthrightly accepted" the result, but added that victory or loss appeared to be a "matter of chance." During the speech he repeated that he felt the electorate understood his policies, while he was "a bit worried" about the future governance of the prefecture and that he thought it was "something he should not have to say".
