Japan ruling party candidate elected Tokyo governor, aiding Abe

Japan's former health minister and candidate of Tokyo gubernatorial election Yoichi Masuzoe speaks to voters atop a van, while campaigning for the February 9 vote in Tokyo January 23, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

TOKYO (Reuters) - A candidate backed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won Sunday's election for governor of Tokyo, frustrating a rival's efforts to make the vote a referendum on the Japanese leader's pro-nuclear energy policy nearly three years after the Fukushima disaster

The widely-expected victory by former health minister Yoichi Masuzoe comes as a relief for Abe, who had suffered a rare setback in another local election last month.