The good thing about being a sake fan is that almost every prefecture in Japan has something to offer.
I can think of at least 2-3 incredible sake breweries from each of these seven prefectures, so I'd never in a million years think of them as "unattractive."
On a more serious note, I kind of sympathize with the governor's reaction, and I'd be questioning the point of releasing this sort of list, too, if I were in that position. I mean, for one thing, so much of it is out of their control, based on geographic factors, general stereotypes and preconceptions, etc. etc. Of course a landlocked, suburban/rural area north of Tokyo that isn't Tokyo (Gunma/Saitama/Tochigi/Ibaraki) is going to be seen as "less alluring" than, say, Okinawa or Kyoto. Also, I feel like it kind of becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If "research" is telling people that Saitama objectively sucks, then it's only going to further cement that image.