The 67-year-old has been Mayor of the city since 2015 and ran as an independent, although with the backing of main parties including Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

He defeated anti-Olympic opponents Kaoru Takano and Hideo Kibata.

Akimoto received just over 56 per cent of the vote to the 28.7 per cent of Takano and 15.2 per cent for Kibata, from a turnout of around 51 per cent.

Sapporo had long been viewed as the frontrunner to host the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, but its bid was "paused" in December following growing public anger at the Tokyo 2020 bribery scandal.

With Akimoto as Mayor, Sapporo City has refused calls for a public referendum on a bid to stage the Games, although some observers and officials suggested this election effectively served as such given the centrality of the issue to the campaign.

An Asahi Shimbun poll recently showed 56 per cent of respondents would consider the candidates' stance on the Winter Olympics at the election.

The poll also showed 47 per cent opposed Sapporo staging the Games and 38 per cent were in favour.

A Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting (UHB) poll on election day found 60 per cent opposed staging the Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

Akimoto told UHB that he did "not think that the citizens have decided whether or not to bid in this election", and wants "to do my best to continue the discussion".

However, he admitted that the corruption-related Tokyo 2020 fallout which has implicated former Organising Committee Executive Board member Haruyuki Takahashi, operations executive Yasuo Mori and several companies must be resolved before Sapporo can proceed with a bid.

"I think that winter snow resorts will be a plus for the future of Sapporo, but I don't think we can move forward unless we clear the problems of the Tokyo Games," Akimoto said.

During the election campaign, Akimoto, who was the favourite to win, insisted hosting the 2030 Games would provide a boost to the local economy and pledged to increase transparency of preparations in the aftermath of the Tokyo 2020 scandal.

Former Sapporo official Takano and Kibata, the head of a non-profit organisation, had both pursued an anti-Winter Games stance and sought to end a bid for 2030, arguing public funding for the multi-sport event could be better spent on other priorities including healthcare.

However, after Akimoto secured a fresh four-year term along with Hokkaidō prefecture Governor Naomichi Suzuki in the unified local elections, it is believed Sapporo could be in a position to resume its bid to stage the Winter Olympics for a second time following on from 1972.

Issues with Sapporo's proposal had left the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in a predicament for the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, with Vancouver in Canada dropping out of contention after failing to secure British Columbia Government support and Salt Lake City in the United States openly declaring its preference was for 2034 to avoid a clash with Los Angeles 2028 sponsorships.

The IOC had wanted to confirm a host for 2030 at this year's delayed Session in Mumbai, but those plans were pushed back in light of its difficulties in securing a host.

IOC Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi last month claimed there had been "renewed interest" at the start of this year over the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

Sweden has launched a feasibility study into making another bid after losing out to Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy for 2026 and held talks with Latvia over joining forces, and a Swiss proposal has been mooted.

However, concerns remain over the future of winter sports given the increasing impact of climate change, and a system of permanent rotating hosts for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics is being considered by the IOC.