Winning the Saitama Prefecture Prefectural Assembly Substitute Election and Immediately Resigning from the Assembly: Problems Highlighted by the Continued Slapstick in the KDP

Resignation from the Diet submitted on the same day after winning the election

In the supplementary election for the Saitama Prefectural Assembly’s Minami Ward 2 (Kawaguchi City) held on March 8, 2014, an unusual situation occurred when the KDP announced the cancellation of its official recognition and expulsion of its candidate, Satoshi Nishizawa (38), the day before the vote was to be cast.

Nishizawa, running as an independent, was elected for the first time with 24,594 votes, placing second out of four candidates. However, he announced his resignation from the Diet shortly afterward.

On March 16, Nishizawa updated his X page. Under the title “Report on Council Member Remuneration,” he wrote

On March 13, the Saitama Prefectural Assembly Secretariat transferred 59,806 yen in remuneration to me for my tenure as a member of the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. As I submitted my resignation on the same day, I believe that I should not receive this remuneration.

He stated, “I believe that I should not receive this remuneration. Under the system, councilor compensation for public office holders is not allowed to be refused or returned to the council. Therefore, Mr. Nishizawa stated

I have donated the entire amount of 59,806 yen to the Saitama branch of the Japanese Red Cross Society as of today.

Nishizawa reported. He reported that he had donated the entire amount of his councilor’s remuneration incurred during his term of office to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

In response to this response, some people on SNS commented

It’s a perfect way to deal with the situation after the scandal.

If the system does not allow him to return the money, he is sincere in his choice to donate it.

On the other hand, on the day before the vote was to be held, the president of the company announced his decision to donate to the local government. On the other hand, the confusion caused by the “blank days” between the cancellation of his official recognition on the day before the opening of the polls, his election, and his resignation is still deep.

It was on the afternoon of March 7 that the situation suddenly changed.

The Saitama Prefectural Federation of the People’s Democratic Party of Japan suddenly announced on its official website that Nishizawa had been “expelled from the party and his official recognition revoked.

According to the party’s explanation, information about Nishizawa was provided by an outside source on March 6, and as a result of checking with him, it was discovered that he had not declared “certain facts that could be relevant to the decision on his official recognition” when he applied for recognition.

The party refrained from disclosing the details of this “specific fact,” but an article on the arrest of a man on suspicion of violating the Child Welfare Law, reported by Tokyo Sports in May 2006, was spread on SNS, and a number of people pointed out that the name on the article corresponded to Nishizawa.

At a press conference on March 10, Yuichiro Tamaki, 56, a representative of Tokyo Sport, stated, “Under the Penal Code, there are no penalties for violating the Child Welfare Law.

Under the Penal Code, fines and other penalties are expired after five years. However, for our part, we have decided to revoke the official recognition and expel him from the organization, as it is against the rules of faith.

Tamaki did not go into specifics, but he did apologize to the voters,

Tamaki did not go into specifics, but he did apologize to the voters and said, “I did a search (for news articles), but could not find anything. I would say that the party’s investigative capability is not good enough.

He also admitted that the party’s checking system was inadequate.

I’ll go through my own channels to find out about the other party.

On the other hand, in X, Nishizawa argued that the case in question was “a punishment based on a fine imposed more than seven years ago,” and that the sentence had already lost its validity.

He asked, “Is it right that a person who has vowed to rehabilitate himself should be subjected to social sanctions for many years, and that society should be a place where he or she is unable to rehabilitate himself or herself?

He questioned his own legal position and his own rehabilitation.

The most confusing aspect of the turmoil was the local voters.

The cancellation of the official recognition of the election at a stage when the advance voting had progressed and the election campaign was in its final stages made it impossible to make the public aware of the situation. On the day of the vote, Nishizawa’s poster, which read, “Endorsed by the People’s Democratic Party of Japan,” continued to be displayed on the bulletin board of the Election Administration Committee.

A couple in their 70s who visited a polling station in Kawaguchi City could not hide their indignation.

The posters were still displayed as they were,” said a couple in their 70s who visited a polling place in Kawaguchi City. When a party gives an official recognition, isn’t it a guarantee that they have thoroughly investigated the person’s background? The National Democratic Party’s mark is still on the board, so from all indications, you’d think it was someone from the party. If you’re going to give out official recognition, you have to do a much more rigorous investigation.”

He complained bitterly.

The KDP has had a string of problems with candidates, including the arrest of a certified candidate for the Tokyo 7th Constituency in the recent Lower House election on suspicion of violating the Public Offices Election Law. Party insiders cite a “manpower shortage” resulting from the rapid expansion of the organization as the reason for the problems.

The problem is that the party is short of people to begin with,” said a party official, “and yet it is recruiting candidates through SNS and other means. The party’s popularity has increased since the lower house election, which the Ishiba administration lost, and at one point the number of open positions exceeded 700. In the case of introductions by people within the party, some people were approved without even being interviewed by the party headquarters, on the grounds that ‘it is safe because of our past relationship.

An official at the Saitama Prefectural Federation, where the selection was made, also revealed the limitations of the practice as follows.

The secretariat does not conduct a complete background check, even though it is called a screening. Our style is that about 10 members of the board of directors investigate the other party with their own criteria and through their own channels. There are actually parts of the board members who don’t really know each other well enough to know who is doing the in-depth research and to what extent.”

Nishizawa touted his background as a public secretary in the office of former Saitama Prefecture Governor Seiji Ueda, a member of the House of Councilors, and his posters included a message of endorsement from Ueda. However, the current situation shows that even these signs of “recommendation by an influential person” and “secretarial experience” were not functioning as an organized system of checks.

A reporter from a local newspaper visited Nishizawa’s former office,

A reporter for a local newspaper who visited Nishizawa’s former office said, “Over the intercom, someone who appeared to be Nishizawa himself rejected me in a strong tone, telling me, ‘You better not go in too deep,’ or ‘I’ll call the police. Even his former base of operations is now shrouded in silence.

Tamaki said.

Tamaki said, “What kind of a new challenge is it in the world of politics?

“We need to have a balanced discussion about what kind of opportunities to give people a second chance in politics,” he said.

However, he bears a heavy responsibility for the cancellation of his official recognition just before the vote and the subsequent confusion that resulted in his resignation immediately after winning the election.