Exclusive confession! Super Crazy, “The Shocking Reason Why I Decided to Run for Mayor”

It’s a sudden turn of events. Former Toda City Council member Super Crazy (Makoto Nishimoto, 35), who was stripped of his council badge, announced that he will run for mayor of Toda City in Saitama Prefecture. The sudden action of the maverick is causing turmoil among citizens.

Super Crazy-kun is one of the unique candidates who colored the 2008 Tokyo gubernatorial election with his full-body tattoos, suicide uniform, and unique dance performance. Although he was elected for the first time to the Toda City Council in January 2009, his election was annulled on March 4, 2009, due to questions about his residency for more than three months, a requirement for city council members. He had just lost his position as a city councilor.

His return to the council in just 10 days is a surprise: ……. What on earth is he thinking?　When we asked him directly, Super Crazy began to talk with a twinkle in his eye.

–Why did you decide to run for Toda Mayor?

Originally, I was preparing for the House of Councillors election in the summer and traveling around the country for that purpose. I had not thought about this Toda mayoral election at all. However, when I opened the lid, I found that there was no one else running for the office other than the incumbent mayor, Fumihito Sugawara (46). If this situation continues, the mayor will be born without an election. Some people are in favor of the current city government, while others are dissatisfied with it. I thought it would not be healthy for democracy if elections were not held in this state.”

–I heard that at first you were planning to have someone else run for the office.

I also honestly thought that I didn’t want to hurt myself before the Upper House election,” he said. But many of my supporters said, ‘Crazy, you should run. So I made up my mind. I have no major complaints about the incumbent, Mr. Sugawara. In fact, I respect him.

But I am afraid of losing the opportunity to vote in an election that is so important to the citizens. It is of course better to have an election in order to improve the city as much as possible. The other council members are saying, ‘If Mr. Sugawara runs, I will lose. That’s why I won’t run. I understand that feeling. For incumbent council members to run for election, they have to give up their current jobs and positions. It takes courage to quit and run for election. In that respect, I had just lost my job. I think it’s a good role to play.”

—The vote will be cast on Sunday, March 20. Less than a week to go, but are you ready?　Mr. Sugawara has been working to improve his image by giving city administration reports in front of train stations and collecting donations for humanitarian aid in Ukraine.

Mr. Sugawara is a man of accomplishments as well as organization and infrastructure. I have nothing of my own. However, there are 111,000 voters in Toda City, and about 40,000 of them go to the polls. In other words, 70,000 votes are dead. If those 70,000 votes flow to me, a …… miracle could happen. And I also believe that on name recognition alone, I have the advantage.”

—What is your secret plan for the election?

I don’t care if it’s an election,” he said. I have been in contact with the citizens in my own way so that I am ready for anything whenever it happens. I will continue to talk to everyone, children and adults, young and old, male and female, as I always have. And I will completely seal off my performance as I did during the Tokyo gubernatorial and Toda City Council elections. Even if there are requests from citizens, we will not do it. We want to conduct a stiff election campaign, not a festival. As for the suicide uniforms, I might wear them at least once.”

Will an unprecedented “crazy mayor” be born?　A remarkable week is about to begin.