Latest news with #TominFirst
Japan Times
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Parties to test political waters in Tokyo election ahead of Upper House vote
Campaigning for the June 22 Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election — an early indicator of how voters nationwide might cast their ballots, especially for the major national parties, in next month's Upper House poll — kicked off Friday. Candidates for the 127 seat chamber include those from the main national ruling and opposition parties, as well as local parties, including Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites First), whose special adviser is Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike. Key questions that have emerged in the race include how well the Liberal Democratic Party, currently with 30 seats, can retain its position as the largest party in the assembly. It will put up 42 candidates. Six former and current assembly members involved in the LDP's political funds scandals are running without formal party support. Large gains or losses in the election could prompt changes to the LDP's Upper House campaign strategy and further strengthen or weaken Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's standing as party leader, which is already weak. The July 2021 Tokyo assembly election saw the LDP and its ruling coalition partner, Komeito, failing to win a majority. Then-Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced two months later he would not seek reelection as LDP president and was replaced later in September by Fumio Kishida. Tomin First — the second-largest party in the Tokyo assembly, with 26 seats — is fielding 37 candidates. Komeito, which has 23 assembly seats, is fielding only 22 candidates this time. Though Koike serves as an adviser to Tomin First, she and Komeito's Tokyo chapter have a good relationship. How independent voters respond to the governor's support of Komeito and Tomin First candidates in Tokyo's multiseat districts is another key question that could impact Komeito's chances in the subsequent Upper House race, where the LDP and Komeito still hold a majority. The Tokyo race will also be a test of the opposition Democratic Party for the People's strength in the wake of a political stumble. It withdrew its endorsement of former Lower House lawmaker Shiori Yamao Wednesday, just one day after she announced she was running as a DPP national proportional candidate. The DPP and its leader, Yuichiro Tamaki, faced a public and social media backlash, along with dissent within the party, over the initial decision to back Yamao, who had been involved in a series of political scandals as well as an extramarital affair. Currently without any presence in the assembly, the DPP is putting up 18 candidates. The party did well in last October's Lower House election, especially in urban centers such as Tokyo, where it won over many younger, independent voters who were attracted to its economic policies. Kentaro Yamamoto, a political scientist at Tokyo's Kokugakuin University, says that while the DPP's withdrawal of its endorsement of Yamao was a blow, it might not hurt the party too badly — not because of its strategy, but because of Tomin First's cautious approach in this election. 'Tomin First has narrowed down its candidates to just one in many districts and appears to be avoiding direct competition with DPP candidates. It seems that Tomin First's tactics for fielding candidates are conservative, and that they have already calculated that reform-minded voters who previously supported Tomin First will switch to the DPP this time,' he says. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan — which is the largest national opposition party but is only fifth-largest in the Tokyo assembly, with just 12 seats — is backing 20 candidates. Opposition forces are also seeking to form alliances in some constituencies. The Japanese Communist Party and the CDP have coordinated their efforts to avoid fielding competing candidates in districts with one to three seats, for example. The JCP currently holds 19 seats and is fielding 24 candidates, while Reiwa Shinsengumi is fielding three. There is also the party of former Akitakata Mayor Shinji Ishimaru, which he named The Path to Rebirth. Ishimaru shocked the established parties in last year's Tokyo gubernatorial contest, finishing second behind incumbent Koike and winning nearly 1.7 million votes in a field of 54 candidates. But he has lost much popularity since then, and his party is considered likely to pick up few, if any, seats.
Japan Times
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
More than 270 candidates to run in Tokyo assembly election
Over 270 people are expected to run in the June 22 Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election as of Wednesday, likely hitting the highest number in decades. The focus of the election will be whether the Liberal Democratic Party can remain the biggest force in the 127-seat assembly or whether Tomin First no Kai will take back the top slot. As many parties consider the poll a precursor to this summer's election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, they treat the Tokyo race like a national election. The LDP, which holds 30 seats in the Tokyo assembly, will put up 42 candidates. In addition, six former and current assembly members involved in the LDP's political funds scandals plan to run as non-LDP candidates. In the 2017 poll, the LDP gained 23 seats, its all-time low in a Tokyo assembly election. Some expect that the LDP to struggle this time again due to a public backlash over the money scandals and weak public support for the national administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, the LDP's president. Komeito, which has 23 seats, hopes to field 22 candidates, aiming to win seats for all of its candidates for the ninth consecutive time. Tomin First, with 26, seats has announced plans to set up 37 candidates. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike serves as special adviser for the regional party. Recently, Koike has been advertising her ties with the party by appearing in its YouTube videos and attending a meeting of prospective election candidates. Asked about her possible involvement in next month's election, Koike told a news conference Friday, "I'll support candidates who would propel (the Tokyo government) forward under (my vision of) 'Grand Reform of Tokyo.'" The Japanese Communist Party, which has 19 seats, will put up 24 candidates, and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan with 12 seats will endorse 21 individuals. Nippon Ishin no Kai plans to field six candidates, while a regional party called Tokyo Seikatsusha Network will have three. Both hold one seat. Another key point is how the Democratic Party for the People and other parties without any presence in the assembly will fare in the race. The DPP plans to field 18 candidates. A senior official from its Tokyo branch says that the party aims to secure 11 seats, which would enable the it to submit draft ordinances single-handedly. Reiwa Shinsengumi plans to put up three candidates, Sanseito four, and the Social Democratic Party one. The Path to Rebirth plans to field 42 candidates. The regional party was established this year by Shinji Ishimaru, who finished runner-up in last year's Tokyo gubernatorial race behind Koike. Over 50 other people have also voiced plans to run in the assembly election.
