Head of Komeito Steps Down

The Chief Representative of Komeito, coalition partner of the Liberal Democratic Party, Natsuo Yamaguchi, announced his standing down as the party leader, not running in the leader’s election this month. Having kept his position for fifteen years, Yamaguchi expressed his notion that it is the time for Komeito to raise a younger leader. Incumbent Secretary Genaral, Keiichi Ishii, is supposed to succeed Yamaguchi’s seat.

Yamaguchi took the seat in 2009, when the leading coalition was defeated by Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito’s chief representative could not secure his seat in the election of House of Representatives. As a member of the House of Councillors, Yamaguchi has been known as a leader representing party’s basic concept for peace and improvement of people’s life, rather than political management over negotiation with the LDP which was mainly exercised in the House of Representatives.

 

In the discussion over new security legislation, which conditionally approved exercising collective self-defense right for the first time in post-war Japan, Komeito reluctantly decided to follow the LDP to remain in the leading coalition. Yamaguchi refused making compromise for the issue, concerning traditional interpretation of the Constitution of Japan that it would not approve exercising collective self-defense right, Komeito finally passed the bills with leadership of lawmakers in the House of Representatives.

 

Yamaguchi is the leader who maintained the seat for the longest term since the rebuilding of Komeito in 1998. “It is preferable for the party to manage coalition politics under a new leader, embracing trend of politics exercised by younger generation,” said Yamaguchi. He predicted that the LDP would elect new leader in the presidential election later this month, who would be younger than current president, Fumio Kishida.

 

Yamaguchi once indicated his resignation in 2022, when he was finishing the seventh term. However, he stayed as the chief representative, because of no person was found for his replacement. One of the possible candidates, Ishii, did not have sufficient confidence from its supporters as the leader for unified local elections, which Komeito was focusing on very much.

 

Komeito is losing its votes in national elections recent years, not being successful in appealing its policies to young generation. Ishii is expected to appear as a new leader, with new Secretary General, the post which is expected to be filled by Makoto Nishida. But both of them are in the age of sixties.

 

Ishii has yet announced that he would succeed Yamaguchi, commenting in his press conference that he would deliberate it. The new Chief Representative will be announced in the national convention of the party scheduled on September 28, a day after LDP presidential election.

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 COVID-19 was preval
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, which is
Read more

Death Penalty Demanded on Criminal of Arson

On the historically brutal case of arson, the public prosecutors demanded an ultimate penalty to the offender. In the trial on the arson and murder in Kyoto Animation in 2019, the prosecutors requested death penalty on the defendant, Shinji Aoba. The lawyers of Aoba argued that the court should avoid sentencing death penalty. The judgement will be passed next January. Aoba was indicted as putting fire after pouring gasoline in the building of Kyoto Animation (Kyoani), a studio producing animation works, and killed 36 staffs and injured 32 on July 18 th , 2019. In the trial, Aoba argued that he could not tolerate Kyoani, because it had stolen his novel story in its works. Aoba later apologized to the victim’s families that he had done too much and regretted it.   In the closing argument in Kyoto Regional Court, the prosecutors demanded death penalty for Aoba, because the number of victims were extremely high in the history of criminal trials in Japan. “It is hard to describe about how t
Read more