His nickname is “Bocchi-kun”…! Other parties are also upset by Rikken Democratic Party of Japan’s Councilor Konishi’s “monkey comment.

The executive board is furious with Konishi. The executive committee is furious with Konishi, saying, “How dare he do such a thing at a critical time for the nationwide local elections. He is the type of person who is proud and shows off more than anyone else, and he just wants to be recognized. It is ironic that Konishi’s most notable moment as a politician was this firestorm.

On April 11, at a meeting of the standing board of directors of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, it was decided that Hiroyuki Konishi, 51, a member of the House of Councilors, would be given a “secretary-general’s warning” for criticizing media outlets such as Fuji TV and the Sankei Shimbun.

During the current Diet session, Konishi had been making his presence felt by taking the lead in pursuit of Sanae Takaichi, Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry, over the issue of the Broadcasting Law’s text. However, as the situation gradually became more and more uncertain, perhaps out of impatience, Konishi’s own gaffes have drawn frowns from within his own party.

Within the opposition parties, there were harsh criticisms of Konishi, saying that the punishment was too lenient and that he did not have the character to reflect on his actions. A veteran secretary of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) said, “He is not a bureaucrat.

Perhaps he has an elitist attitude, which is common among lawmakers who come from the bureaucracy, or perhaps he has a condescending attitude toward others. For this reason, I have never seen any councilors in the party who are on friendly terms with him. Some people even call him “Botch-kun” because he is always alone. Even party staffers and reporters are so blatantly dismissive when the subject of him comes up, and he is not well-liked in any way.”

After dropping out of Tokushima University’s Faculty of Medicine, Konishi attended the University of Tokyo, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (now the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications), and Columbia Graduate School before being elected for the first time in 2010, and is currently serving his third term. In contrast to his spectacular career, however, he has not received sufficient recognition within the party.

At a meeting held within the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ),” he said, “Senator Konishi was just talking about the Security Treaty Bill. It was just at the time when Senator Konishi had published a book on the Security Bill, and he suddenly started handing out his book and promoting it before the meeting. After three to four minutes of his eloquent talk about his knowledge, one of the executives warned him, ‘You need to shut up for a minute. I will never forget the blank expression on Mr. Konishi’s face at that moment.

From then on, Councilor Konishi seemed to feel that he was being unfairly underappreciated, and he told everyone around him, “Why am I so underappreciated? He must have been getting impatient as his pursuit of Mr. Takaichi’s case also began to spin out of control little by little. I think that the attention he was getting and the fact that he himself was getting worked up led to his gaffe.

On November 11, Councilor Konishi resigned as Chairman of the Policy Deliberation Council of the House of Councillors. He was subsequently given a warning by Secretary-General Katsuya Okada, and was also removed from his position as deputy chairman of the House of Representatives Policy Research Council. Although the official reason for the punishment was the “monkey” comment, in reality it was based on internal party considerations, according to a senior Diet member.

What was considered more problematic than the “monkey” comment was Konishi’s media criticism and pressure statements. It could have boomeranged from the trend of pursuing the MIC’s text issue. The party has been making a particular effort as a party, with Secretary-General Okada sending direct instructions to the supplementary elections to the House of Representatives for Chiba’s 5th and Yamaguchi’s 2nd wards. However, after Konishi’s comments, supporters and advocacy groups voiced harsh opinions. Such timing also coincided with the executive’s desire not to make enemies of the media. One of the executives even said, ‘If we lose, it will be Konishi’s fault,'” he said.

The problem is not limited to within the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. The Japan Innovation Party, which is currently engaged in a “joint struggle” with the DPJ in the Diet, and other opposition parties have also been affected by Konishi’s remarks. A mid-level member of The Japan Innovation Party said

We and Rikken were discussing the ‘descent of government officials’ issue with the aim of passing a bill in the current Diet session. However, everything temporarily came to a halt when Co-Chairman Baba Nobuyuki became furious after Senator Konishi’s comments. That did not change even after Councilor Konishi resigned as Chairman of the Upper House Policy Council. It was unusual for Representative Baba to be that angry, and he was adamant, saying, ‘We will not change our attitude until the Rikken takes action. It’s a real nuisance because the bill on the “descent issue” was already on the drawing board. ……

Subsequently, Senator Konishi made individual apologies to Co-Chair Baba and others, but the Ishin were not satisfied. They demanded that the Rikken side apologize at the House of Representatives Executive Committee meeting as a condition for resuming the “joint struggle” in the Diet. The situation became even more confusing when Hideya Sugio, a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), did not respond to this demand and protested , “Why should I apologize to the Ishin when they tell me to? A veteran member of the DPJ lamented, “This is the current state of the party.

There were quite a few members who were not convinced about the joint struggle with the Restoration Association that the executive board of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) promoted. The Rikken and Ishin parties have completely different policies and basic stances. Konishi’s remarks triggered a movement among those who had opposed the joint struggle.

Konishi’s …… has become a cause of deepening the rift between the opposition parties. The “botching” seems to be accelerating.