Governor Koike’s Nomination of Yohei Otake Sparks Strong Opposition Within LDP for Tokyo 15th District By-Election

To avoid a crisis, it was decided to support Mr. Ota by riding on the coattails of Governor Koike. If Mr. Ota were to win, the Kishida administration could argue, “Although we abandoned our original candidate, the endorsed candidate won, so the Liberal Democratic Party did not lose.” However, such an attitude is not well received internally, and an Edo ward councilor belonging to the Liberal Democratic Party, who supports the election, lamented:

“On April 3, when the party headquarters conveyed the intention to endorse Mr. Ota through the Edogawa branch of the Liberal Democratic Party, there was an uproar: ‘Is the party headquarters ignoring the voices of the local community?’ To begin with, Mr. Yamazaki himself has a distant relationship with Governor Koike and does not hide his anti-Koike stance. Furthermore, some Liberal Democratic ward councilors are facing trials over violations of the Public Offices Election Act regarding last year’s April mayoral election. There’s also discord because some voices are saying, ‘There’s no way Mr. Ota can run for election,’ and ‘We want to support Mr. Akimoto.'”

Mr. Ota was forced to withdraw from the race due to an extramarital affair, and although he apologized, Komeito remains indifferent and will not instruct its supporters, opting for a free vote.

On the other hand, the Constitutional Democratic Party is endorsing former Edogawa ward councilor Namiki Sakai (37) and is finalizing adjustments with the Communist Party’s Azuma Kozutsumi (34).

“Before Mr. Ota declared his candidacy, when the Constitutional Democratic Party conducted its own opinion poll, Mr. Sakai’s points were favorable, as he had come in second place in the mayoral election. There were also voices supporting Mr. Sudo, but he kept waiting to see whether Governor Koike would run or not, without clearly stating his position, and time ran out,” said a Constitutional Democratic Party assembly member.

In addition, candidates from other parties, such as Yui Kanazawa (33) from Nippon Ishin no Kai, Rina Yoshikawa (36) from the Sanseito party, and Yo Iiyama (48) from the Japan Conservative Party, as well as former Liberal Democratic Party Lower House member Tsukasa Akimoto (52), have announced their candidacies. Except for Mr. Akimoto, all of them are newcomers, and the situation is becoming chaotic with multiple candidates.

With less than a week left until the announcement date, as candidates are being endorsed by various political parties, Mr. Sudo hammered home his determination, saying, “I was born and raised in Edogawa, and there’s no one else like me.” He expressed his determination as follows:

“It’s more interesting to have multiple candidates. In life, you need to have a ‘Battle of Okehazama’ somewhere to grow as a politician. I believe that by making decisions without considering gain or loss, I can succeed as a politician.”

Who will emerge victorious in the “Edogawa Battle Royale” in April: the author, the martial artist, the former local councilor, or perhaps a third party?