LDP’s Another Defeat in Shizuoka

Former mayor of Hamamatsu city, Yasutomo Suzuki, won the Shizuoka gubernatorial election voted on Sunday, May 26. With recommendation from the Constitutional Democratic Party and the Democratic Party for the People, Suzuki defeated a former officer of Ministry for Internal Affairs and Communications, Shin-ichi Omura. The result may affect handlings of politics by Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, who suffers from low popularity caused by poor handlings of the slush fund scandal.

Suzuki made a clear victory with 728,500 votes, with about 70,000 of margin against Omura. It is notable that a candidate with Japan Communist Party obtained over 100,000 votes. The result means the margin must have been wider, if CDP and JCP had held an integrated candidate against LDP candidate.

 

Main issue for the election was about high-speed maglev train line between Tokyo and Nagoya, passing a northern part of Shizuoka prefecture. Former governor, Heita Kawakatsu, firmly opposed the plan of constructing the train line, because of its influence on the environment, including underground water or ecological system. Kawakatsu stepped down after he made an inappropriate speech which might be recognized as discrimination on professions in April. The election was to succeed him.

 

The opinion on the maglev train line did not make a big difference between Suzuki and Omura. Both of them are positive on constructing the train line through Shizuoka part. While Omura appealed overwhelming change of the attitude of Kawakatsu, Suzuki upheld the construction with taking good care of natural resources.

 

Nevertheless, the voters showed firm support on the side of Suzuki. According to the exit poll conducted by Asahi Shimbun, Suzuki obtained 34 percent of votes of the LDP supporters, while he secured 79 percent of CDP votes. Omura got 63 percent votes of LDP supporters and only 16 percent of CDP. It is likely that the voters voted against LDP, by voting for Suzuki, for expressing their frustration on the slush fund scandal and Kishida’s handing for it.

 

Basically, the LDP was reluctant to raise candidate to Shizuoka gubernatorial election, because the party could not expect positive result. However, it was obvious that defying the election would be counted as a defeat anyway. With a little hope for a victory, the LDP decided its recommendation for Omura just a day before the campaign started. Although the LDP leaders did not actively engaged in the election, one of the few leaders who joined Omura’s campaign, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Yoko Kamikawa, made a gaffe inviting doubt on her recognition of gender.

 

As unpopularity of the LDP appeared in the election, adding to all three defeats in the by-elections of the House of Representatives in April, it is further unlikely for Kishida to call an early snap election, which has been speculated as possibly happening at the end of current Diet session in June. An announcement of an Upper House member of CDP, Renho, to run for Tokyo Metropolitan gubernatorial election in July may make another torment for the LDP. No strategy to overcome this hard slog has been delivered from the ailing prime minister.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amendment of Local Autonomy Law

The House of Representatives started discussion on revision of the Local Autonomy Law, which would vest the national government a power to instruct local government in an emergency. It may change the relationship between the national and local government, which has been recognized as equal. The opposition parties oppose the amendment, arguing that it would give the national government an excessive power.   With the Meiji Restoration, the national government abolished the feudal system, introducing modern governance. However, its autonomy was not sufficient. The governor of each prefecture was appointed by the national government. The local governments subordinated to the national government. It was as late as 2000 when  the Comprehensive Decentralization Law  was enacted and the relationship between the national and local government was defined as equal.   The national government found inconvenience in the relationship between the national and local government, when ...
Read more

Request for Final Nuclear Disposal Site

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry requested Genkai Town, Saga, to accept “literature survey” for building a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste. Genkai is going to answer within this month. If it accepts, it will be the third place to accept that survey, following two places in Hokkaido. Main reason to accept the survey is supposed to be subsidy from the national government.   Japan has no final disposal site. Among all 54 reactors in 17 nuclear power generation plant, 12 reactors of 6 plants are operating. The rest of them are not in operation, some of which are determined to be decommissioned. Used nuclear fuels are stocked in each plant, 　 or have sent to a reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori. There are two plans to stock nuclear wastes in the intermediate facility for disposal, one is already built and another is still in negotiation.   Nuclear Fuel Final Disposal Act in 2000 determines to bury nuclear waste in the underground. Literature survey, ...
Read more

Not A Royal Wedding

The bride called her husband an indispensable existence and their marriage was necessary choice to protect their mind. The groom insisted on his life as only once and his right to be with his loved one. Her father wanted his daughter’s marriage to be celebrated by the people. The people were not sure whether the family was happy as a whole. Is this the traditional Japanese social system that makes no one happy? Mako Komuro, as known as Princess Mako during her life in one of the royal family Akishino, held on Tuesday a press conference with her husband Kei Komuro, right after submitting marriage report to local government. It was something different from ordinary Q&A session, because Mako was afraid of her mental uneasiness brought by some questions not based on truth. So, the event was actually one-sided speech to the reporters. Mako emphasized that the Kei’s decision of studying abroad five years ago had not been his original idea, but a result of her request to establish an over...
Read more