Yuichiro Tamaki Leads Morning Activity Chanting Positive Words with 280 People

The Wind Since the 2017 Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Election

The Democratic Party for the People (DPP), led by Yuichiro Tamaki (55), is gaining more seats and making a stronger presence the more elections it contests.

After securing 28 seats in the last autumn’s House of Representatives election, a fourfold increase from before the election, the momentum continues. In municipal elections from January to April this year, including the Yokohama City Council by-election and elections in Kitakyushu City, Koganei City, Oita City, Shizuoka City, and Kamakura City, candidates from the Democratic Party for the People have won top positions.

The party’s surge shows no signs of slowing down. The DPP has decided to field 15 candidates (as of April 26) for the upcoming Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election in June, with plans to increase that number.

The party’s progress in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election is especially alarming to the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The LDP, which boasts 30 seats as the largest faction, is currently facing a tailwind of scandals. Recently, it became widely known that 35 million yen from the LDP’s political fundraising event was not reported in the faction’s political fund income and expenditure report, resulting in the person responsible for the finances being formally indicted for violating political fund regulations.

Additionally, it was uncovered that 26 current or former members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly skimmed excess party ticket sales quotas and failed to report them in their party’s financial statements.

Six former LDP secretaries-general have had their candidacies postponed and will run as independents, further shaking the party amid the ongoing politics and money scandal. On April 25, Koichi Kanno (66), Secretary-General of the LDP Tokyo branch, expressed his concern about the situation:

“If Tamaki of the DPP energetically campaigns across Tokyo, it will cause significant damage to LDP candidates. I feel a similar ‘wind’ to the one we experienced during the disastrous 2017 election when Governor Yuriko Koike created a whirlwind. Voters might base their decision on whether a candidate is from the DPP, rather than on the candidate’s character or policies.”

If the Democratic Party for the People makes significant gains in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election in June, there is a high possibility that it will continue to expand its seats in the subsequent House of Councillors election in July. If the LDP and its coalition partner, Komeito, lose their majority in the Upper House as they did in the Lower House, a political realignment could occur. At that time, there was growing speculation in Nagatacho that “Tamaki, who has widespread public popularity, could be supported as Prime Minister.”

Drawing a comparison with a former boss

On the early morning of April 28, Tamaki, known as the politician closest to becoming prime minister, was repeatedly chanting “Good morning!” at the “Yushima Rinri Hojinkai” morning seminar.

Invited as a guest speaker, Tamaki arrived midway through the 6:30 a.m. morning assembly, ahead of the 7:00 a.m. seminar. The organization, a private educational group, uses Toshio Maruyama’s book “The Path to Happiness for All People” as a sort of scripture, enthusiastically chanting positive phrases like “Today is the best day, now is the only chance,” “Adversity is the gateway to happiness,” and “People are mirrors; all phenomena are my teachers.” Although Tamaki holds the title of advisor, he cheerfully joined in the chanting without referring to the booklet.

“When I decide to do something, I do it—and once I do, I deliver results.”

As the morning assembly ended and he took the microphone as the seminar’s speaker, Yuichiro Tamaki delivered a strong message reflecting his current momentum. Addressing the growing public expectations, he explained:

“Just a year ago, the Democratic Party for the People’s approval rating was compared to an eye test—it was at 0.6 or 0.7%. But now it’s in the double digits. We’re gaining the most support among opposition parties, and according to NHK polls, we even surpass the LDP among voters under 40.

We’ve been saying the same things whether our support was high or low—solutions over confrontation and elections shouldn’t be just job hunts for politicians. Back when we had no media coverage, we still said it. Now, the media comes to us uninvited.”

In front of a record 281 attendees, Tamaki demonstrated his skillful mix of serious and lighthearted speech:

“Leaders should smile. You might look smart listing risks with a serious face, but it’s better to smile, even if people think you look silly. Grim faces make people hesitant to talk to you. I had a boss like that once.”

Referring, perhaps, to his time under Ichiro Ozawa, then-leader of the former Democratic Party, Tamaki’s remark drew laughter from the entire room.

Would you like a summary or headline for this segment?

Even when you feel like crying or are feeling sad

Mr. Tamaki listed remaining optimistic and the “ability to believe in oneself” as essential traits of a leader.

The Democratic Party for the People has often been referred to as “Tamaki’s personal shop,” and after his extramarital affair came to light in October last year, many predicted a crisis that could end the party. However, the party’s approval ratings barely dropped, and Tamaki himself returned as party leader after only a three-month suspension. Though he did not mention the scandal during his lecture, he shared the following, reflecting on his emotional struggles:

“There were times when I wanted to cry or felt sad. When that happens, it’s okay to mourn—but set a deadline. After that, lift your head, smile. When you smile, people are drawn to you. It’s like free consultants start showing up. Set a time to grieve, then look up—there are endless ways forward.”

Perhaps it was this positive mindset that helped him endure not only his affair but also the scandal involving his brother and investment troubles.

During the Q&A session, a question about the turbulence caused by Trump’s tariff policies came up. Tamaki, after confirming “The media isn’t here today, right?”, answered with:

“Stock market declines are already factored in for Trump. But rising long-term interest rates would push up mortgage rates, and he’d lose public support. I think that’s why he suddenly mentioned a 90-day halt to mutual tariffs—it’s a reaction to the spike in long-term rates. If a large sell-off of U.S. Treasury bonds happens, long-term interest rates in the U.S. will rise. Maybe the Japanese government should signal that it might sell part of its U.S. bond holdings as a negotiation tactic during tariff talks.”

From early morning, Tamaki was on fire—speaking not just to Japan’s domestic politics, but envisioning negotiating directly with the President of the United States.