Intruder Strikes Otobu in Lower House By-Election Amid Security Concerns

Writer Hirotada Ototake (48), who ran as an independent candidate for the Tokyo 15 lower house by-election, was defeated in the election.

Before running for office, Ototake became the vice representative of the First Association, which is supported by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike (71). He received support from the First Association and the People’s Democratic Party of Japan, and was repeatedly cheered on by Governor Koike and Yuichiro Tamaki, 54, leader of the People’s Democratic Party of Japan, in his speeches on the streets.

There were nine candidates in the race for this supplementary election. Koike was backing Otome, who boasts overwhelming name recognition, but soon after the polls opened, a preliminary announcement was made that Natsumi Sakai, 37, of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), was sure to win.

For Governor Koike, this was an election she could not afford to lose, even if it meant deflecting attention from the allegations of academic fraud leveled against her. He accompanied Mr. Otome day after day, and even bought a ride in his campaign car and played the role of Uguisujo. However, the runner-up was Genki Sudo, 46, who ran as a completely independent candidate. Mr. Otome came in fifth, a dismal defeat.

This was his second consecutive loss following the election for Meguro Ward mayor, and it was a result that impressed upon us the shadow of the influence of Governor Koike, who was considered to be “strong in elections. It is undeniable that the presence of Governor Koike may have had a negative impact on Ototake.

Ototake was heartbroken after losing the election, but he had other misfortunes as well. During the election campaign, he was almost attacked by thugs. This magazine witnessed the whole thing.

Oi, oi, oi! Ototake. What are you doing here!

At around 7 p.m. on April 21, Ototake’s campaign car was parked in front of JR Kameido Station, and he, Governor Koike, who had rushed to the station to support him, and Tamaki stood side by side on the sidewalk to begin his street speech. About 30 minutes into Tamaki’s speech, a man passing by yelled at Ototake and confronted him.

A staff member from Mr. Ototake’s camp intervened between the two and moved the man away, but the next moment the man lunged toward Mr. Ototake. In a split second, the staff member who came to stop him was pushed down by the man, and people around him said, ‘Current crime! The man pushed the staff member who stopped him down. ‘ (an audience member).

Several staff members subdued the man and called the police. The sound of sirens from police cars and the sound of his speech mingled together, and the scene became noisy. The man was so excited that he shouted at the police officers who rushed to the scene, “Make Ototake stop his speech! The man was so agitated that he yelled at the police officer, “Stop Ototake’s speech! He was arrested on suspicion of assault.

I was listening to the speech when I heard a man’s angry voice. The man passed right in front of me and I remember he smelled very much of alcohol. If the staff had been even a little late, it would have been very dangerous.

Since the shooting of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, there should have been tight security at street speeches, but why was security so lax? ……

The problem in this election was that the camp of Ryosuke Nemoto (29) of the “Tsubasa Party,” who ran in the same election, had been obstructing other candidates by loudly asking questions and shouting abuse at them during their speeches. In order to avoid obstruction, the camps were unable to disclose their speech schedules, and had no choice but to give their speeches in a guerrilla-like manner. This may have made it difficult to deploy SPs in advance,” said a reporter from a national newspaper.

These actions also drew debate in the Diet, and at a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives on March 22, Prime Minister Kishida stated, “This is a matter that concerns the very foundation of the electoral system,

Prime Minister Kishida stated, “This is an issue that should be discussed by all parties and factions as it relates to the very foundation of the election system.

Some of the opposition parties are also concerned about the tightening of regulations. Some opposition parties have also indicated their intention to begin discussions on amending the Public Election Law to tighten regulations.

The man arrested was not affiliated with the Tsubasa Party, but according to Jiji Press, he was 41 years old with an unknown occupation and residence. He was reportedly taken into custody after the charges were switched from assault to a violation of the Public Election Law (obstruction of free elections).

Despite the obstruction of the election and the assault, Otome fought on, but the results were disastrous. He has not yet decided on his future plans, but we wonder if he will run for office again.