Following the Governor of Ishikawa Prefecture and the Mayor of Kiyose City, the election for the Mayor of Nerima Ward… The Subtle Nature of “Takaichi’s Popularity” as Seen in the Disastrous Defeat of the LDP-Nominated Candidate

‘We lost in Nerima, too’

The election for the mayor of Nerima Ward, one of Tokyo’s 23 wards, has sent shockwaves through Nagata-cho.

In the Nerima Ward Mayor election held on April 12, Kenichi Yoshida, 59, the president of a kindergarten, who was “completely independent,” won his first election with 123,164 votes.

Kohei Ojima, 37, a former Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member who was nominated by Mayor Yosio Maekawa (80) and endorsed by the LDP, Tomin First, and the People’s Democratic Party of Japan, was defeated by 90,135 votes, a margin of about 30,000 votes.

A housewife in her 50s living in the ward commented on the election,

Governor Yuriko Koike (73) and Kazuhide Sugawara (64), a local elected representative of the House of Representatives, were traveling together, but I really had no impression of Mr. Ojima himself. Even when I looked at the campaign pledges distributed in the newspaper, I found no freshness or specificity in the pledges that I had seen so often in the past, such as earthquake preparedness and the extension of the Oedo Line. In other words, I didn’t really understand what he wanted to do.

I didn’t know what he wanted to do,” said Mr. Yoshida.

Mr. Yoshida, on the other hand, has declared his opposition to the redevelopment of the municipal art museum, whose budget has ballooned to 15 billion yen. He has gained support by appealing for prioritizing support for childcare and other issues.

Mr. Yoshida, who came within 2,000 votes of Mr. Maekawa in the last ward mayor election, and Mr. Ojima, who lost in a virtual runoff. Nerima ward assembly members who had supported him could not hide their shock.

Mr. Yoshida was considered to have the upper hand in western Nerima, including Shakujijii and Oizumi,” said Mr. Ojima. Even so, I did not think that Mr. Ojima, who had the support of his organization, would lose, as he made frequent trips to organizations in the ward. I didn’t expect it to be such a big defeat. ……”

The results of the ward mayor election were received with shock in central political circles as well.

To be honest, I feel that even Nerima lost …….

A source from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) told us, “The LDP continues to lose in local elections.

Nerima Shock” Spreads within the Party

In the March 8 election for governor of Ishikawa Prefecture, incumbent Hiroshi Hase lost despite the support of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (65), and in the March 29 election for mayor of Kiyose, Tokyo, the LDP-nominated incumbent was defeated by a newcomer backed by the Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party. This is the third defeat in the past three elections, including this election for the mayor of Nerima Ward. The LDP’s nominee, the incumbent mayor of Tokyo Metropolitan Kiyose, was defeated by a newcomer backed by the Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party. This is the subtle essence of Takaichi’s popularity.

The LDP won a historic victory in the February lower house election. However, in the local elections that followed, the LDP has repeatedly lost, as if the election results of a month ago were a lie.

What impact will this string of defeats, including the “Nerima shock,” have on the Takaichi administration?

Political commentator Harumi Arima asked this website,

The LDP is not optimistic about its recent losses in local elections, but I don’t think it will be a big problem. The party is aware that ‘it is a local election. National elections and local elections are different. In the last lower house election, the people voted for the LDP member whom Prime Minister Takaichi promoted in order to have her play an active role in the Diet. They voted only to support her, so they did not vote for her because she is a member of the LDP. Therefore, when it comes to the local elections, the people lost their support for the prime minister, and they struggled in the local elections.

He analyzes the situation as follows.

The LDP has been mired in suspicion over such issues as the slush fund problem and its relationship with the former Unification Church. Although the LDP unexpectedly won the lower house election thanks to the emergence of a popular figure in the form of Prime Minister Takaichi, there is no doubt that the public still views the party harshly.