TOKYO >> Tokyo’s governor won re-election Sunday, exit polls showed, despite a gaffe in which he suggested a March earthquake and tsunami were “divine punishment” for Japan.

Shintaro Ishihara, 78, had been expected to secure his fourth 4-year-term in the gubernatorial race, and polls by public broadcaster NHK confirmed his victory after voting finished late Sunday.

Election official Yuji Miura said official results would be available Monday.

Just days after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami swept over the country’s northeast, Ishihara caused a stir with his comments.

“We need to wash away our egoism with this tsunami. Really, I believe this is divine punishment,” he told reporters on March 14. After a public outcry, he retracted the remarks and apologized a day later.

The twin disasters decimated much of northeastern Japan and are believed to have killed more than 25,000 people. The tsunami also damaged a coastal nuclear power plant, causing it to leak radiation into the air, soil and ocean.

Ishihara and his main challengers — former Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru and Miki Watanabe, the founder of a popular Japanese-style restaurant chain — devoted much of their campaigns to disaster management.