Governor Koike’s Nomination of Yohei Otake Sparks Strong Opposition Within LDP for Tokyo 15th District By-Election

As the son of an izakaya (Japanese-style bar) owner, I would like to play politics that is in tune with the people.

On April 3, Genki Sudo, 46, a former fighter and member of the House of Councillors, announced his intention to run as an independent candidate in the Tokyo 15 House of Representatives supplementary election. In 1919, he ran for the Rikken Democratic Party in the upper house proportional representation election and was elected for the first time.” He became an independent in 2008, and with one year left in his term of office, he plans to run in the supplementary election to be announced on April 16 and held on April 28. Mr. Sudo describes his thoughts on running for office.

In Koto Ward, LDP deputies have been arrested twice in a row, and unfortunately it has become a symbolic place of vested political power. I will put an end to this situation, change Koto Ward, and change Japan.”

The Tokyo 15 ward by-election was triggered by the resignation of Mizu Kakizawa, 53, former vice-minister of justice, for violating the Public Election Law in connection with last year’s Koto ward mayoral election. His predecessor, former House of Representatives member Tsukasa Akimoto, 52, was also arrested for bribery and violating the Organized Crime Punishment Law in a corruption case involving IR projects.

LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Mogi commented on the decision not to field a candidate.

“We were in a situation where it was difficult for our party to field a candidate,” he said.

He said, “We were in a situation where it was difficult for our party to field a candidate. With the LDP refusing to field its own candidate, the supplementary election is expected to be a hotly contested race with many candidates running unopposed.

One candidate who is attracting a lot of attention is writer Otome Hiromasa, 48, who is running against Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko. He is scheduled to run as an official candidate of the “Tomin First no Kai” (“First Association”), a regional political party in which Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike (71) serves as a special advisor, in order to enter national politics, and the LDP plans to endorse him.

On March 28, Mr. Koike sent a direct message to the main parties concerned, saying, ‘We are going to run with Mr. Otome,’ and he was suddenly welcomed as the deputy representative of the Miyako First Party. The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly members of the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito were outraged that they had not been told of this. The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly members of the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito are furious that they have not been told of his appointment. The fact that he has yet to hold a press conference to announce his candidacy has led to rumors that Ototake may be involved in another female scandal,” said a senior executive of the Miyako Metropolitan Government.

Originally, Mr. Ototake had been coordinated as an official candidate of the Liberal Democratic Party for the Upper House election in 2004. However, this was all ended when “Shukan Shincho” reported his infidelity with five women.

On March 29, he held discussions with Yuko Obuchi, the head of the Election Committee, and Yutaka Moriyama, the chairman of the General Affairs Committee, but Mogi’s anger had not cooled and he was reluctant to endorse Otogu by the LDP. However, Mogi’s anger had not abated, and he was reluctant for the LDP to endorse Ototake.

Of the three supplementary elections to the House of Representatives in April, the LDP decided not to nominate a candidate for Nagasaki’s Ward 3. The LDP is also seen as having a poor showing in Shimane Ward 1, a conservative stronghold, and a loss in Tokyo Ward 15 would put the Kishida administration in a tight spot as it would be perceived as incapable of winning elections.

In order to avert a crisis, the LDP and Koike came to a consensus on a plan to nominate Mr. Ototake as their running mate. If Mr. Otome wins the election, the Kishida administration will be able to forcefully argue that the LDP did not lose because the candidate it recommended won the election, although it gave up on its own candidate. However, this attitude is not well received internally, and a Koto Ward assemblyman affiliated with the LDP, who will support the election, laments, “The LDP is not going to lose the election.

On April 3, when the LDP’s Koto General Branch was informed by Kazuki Yamazaki, a former Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member and general branch leader of the LDP, of the party headquarters’ intention to endorse Mr. Otome, there was a roar of criticism: “Is the party headquarters ignoring the voices of the local community? To begin with, Mr. Yamazaki himself is distant from Mr. Koike and has made no secret of his anti-Koike stance. In addition, the LDP-affiliated ward assemblyman is facing trial for violating the Public Election Law over last April’s ward mayor election. Some say, ‘There is no way we can elect Mr. Otome,’ and others say, ‘We want to support Mr. Akimoto,’ so they are not aligned.”

Mr. Ototake was forced to abandon his candidacy because of the affair and has apologized, saying that he will never make the same mistake again, but the Kōmeitō party is indifferent and will not give instructions to its supporters.

The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), on the other hand, has fielded Natsumi Sakai, 37, a former Koto Ward assembly member. She is making final arrangements with Azuma Kozutsumi, 34, a member of the Communist Party.

Before Mr. Otome declared his candidacy, the Rikken Democratic Party took its own poll and found that Ms. Sakai’s points were good, as was her runner-up position in the ward mayor’s race. There were voices of support for Mr. Sudo, but Mr. Sudo continued to hold off to determine whether or not Governor Koike would run, and time ran out without a clear attitude” (Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member of the Constitutional Democratic Party).

Other candidates who announced their candidacies were Yui Kanazawa, 33, of The Japan Innovation Party; Rina Yoshikawa, 36, of the Sangen Party; Yo Iiyama, 48, of the Japan Conservative Party; and Tsukasa Akimoto, 52, a former LDP member of the House of Representatives. All but Akimoto are newcomers to the race, creating the appearance of a wild contest among the candidates.

With less than a week to go before the election day, political parties are fielding candidates one after another, but Mr. Sudo made the point that “I am the only candidate who was born and raised in Koto-ku,” and expressed his determination, saying, “It would be more interesting if there were more candidates in the race.

He said, “It will be more interesting if there are many candidates in the race. I believe that if you don’t fight the ‘battle of Okehazama’ at some point in your life, you will not grow as a politician. I believe that by competing without profit or loss, I will grow as a politician.

Who will win the “Koto Ward Battle Royal” in April, a writer, a fighter, a former local councilor, or a third party?