Although Ninagawa narrowly won the re-election by a bare majority of 4000 votes, he felt his limits considering the uphill battle and his age (he was 78 year old at that time) and retired from the governorship in 1978.
わずか4千票の僅差でようやく当選したものの、この苦戦や自らの年齢（当時78歳）に限界を感じた蜷川は、1978年に知事を引退。