Liberal Japan

Shintaro Ishihara, every gaikokusekijins’ (外国籍人) favorite Tokyo mayor won reelection to gain a third term as governor of Tokyo.

I’ve put together a scattering of comments from the press and from some blogs. Source follows quote.

Although newly reelected Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara called himself an independent, he relied on the significant support of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito to achieve his win in Sunday’s gubernatorial election.
In the previous election in 2003, he enjoyed strong popular support. But this time, he faced harsh criticism by other candidates over his high-handed political style. The support of the LDP and New Komeito therefore played an important role in his decisive defeat of the 13 other candidates in the Tokyo race … Asano failed to garner votes from most DPJ and Social Democratic Party supporters and swing voters split their votes between him and Ishihara, resulting in his defeat. Asano decided to run in the election at the request of civic groups following his decision not to run on a DPJ ticket.
As such, he declared his candidacy only 16 days before the election kicked off. The DPJ and SDP threw their unofficial support behind Asano, but in the beginning of the electoral campaign, he competed as a maverick, shunning political parties.

LDP, New Komeito support key to Ishihara victory (The Yomiuri Shimbun)

Okay so we know that one reason Asano didn’t win was he couldn’t even generate much interest within the main opposition party.

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The regional elections, the first of two unified rounds this month, are seen as a test of support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of the nationwide House of Councilors election in July. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which Abe heads, had endorsed Ishihara, although that endorsement was unsolicited. Asano had the blessing of the Democratic Party of Japan, although he too was not officially on a party ticket.…The election was widely seen as a gauge of voters’ desire to have another four years of Ishihara, 74, who has been criticized for cronyism in running the metropolitan government but who campaigned on his leadership in curbing the capital’s smog woes and taking anticrime measures. The former novelist known for his hawkish views will thus be the top administrator of the capital — home to nearly 12.7 million people and an economy bigger than Australia’s — through 2011….In five of Sunday’s 13 gubernatorial elections, candidates campaigned in line with the LDP vs. DPJ power game in national politics. LDP-affiliated candidates captured three of the races, in Tokyo, Hokkaido and Fukuoka, besting rival candidates associated with the DPJ. DPJ-linked candidates emerged as victors in the remaining two….Ishihara’s victory may be seen as Japan’s acceptance of its resurgent right wing. He has come to symbolize the right, while Asano vowed to be its antithesis. Ishihara has ignited outrage by ordering public school teachers to sing the “Kimigayo” national anthem at school functions or face punishment — a promise that has not rung hollow.

Ishihara cruises in bid for third term (the Japan Times)

Take a look at the highlighted sentence … ah … obviously. Anyway, I guess the intention here is to say that this looks good for the LDP in the upcoming election for the House of Councilors. What can the Democratic party offer aside from Ozawa, the savvy backroom dealmaker?

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Jun Iio, a professor of government administration at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, said Asano, Ishihara’s most prominent rival, and the other challengers struggled to make effective challenges to the incumbent . . . But these issues “did not become major points of contention,” Iio said. “He carried out a skillful campaign and was able to avoid being attacked by his rivals.” Iio also suggested Ishihara won by default because there were no strong alternatives.

Ishihara won but is third time a charm (the Japan Times)

It’s also mentioned that Asano got into the campaign relatively late and was perceived as an outsider.

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Despite recent scandals involving Ishihara, opinion polls show the Tokyo governor is more popular than Abe, who has faced questions about his authority. Lawmaker Yoshio Yatsu, the LDP’s chief election strategist, was quick to call Ishihara’s win a victory for the ruling party. “Tokyo is the face of Japan. This victory should not harm us in the upper house elections,” Yatsu said . . . Ishihara, a bugbear for liberals with his outspoken criticism of everything from China to feminism, has grown popular in part due to pushing through policies such as banning diesel engines to improve air quality. . . . “I voted for Ishihara as I think Tokyo needs a leader who is convincing and has strong leadership,” said Manabu Koiso, a 24-year-old fish market worker. . . Ishihara’s platform called for tougher measures against crime and bringing the Olympics to Tokyo, eight years after the Beijing Games. After his re-election, he turned to his frequent confrontational approach with reporters when one asked whether he would alter the Olympic bid.

From Agence France-Presse as quote by Baku Today Net

Hm? Confrontational style, where have I heard that before? Is someone suggesting Ishihara is a “gaijin”? Could there be an upside here?

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My two cents on why he won: I don’t think it’s because he did anything particularly amazing or revolutionary during his last two terms. It’s more because 1: he was backed by the LDP and Komeito, the two oldest, most influential, loyal parties in Japanese politics; and 2. because the swing vote in Japan often goes to maintaining the status quo, i.e. life isn’t so horrible so why risk changing it?
Well, all that and the fact that none of his opponents were all that impressive. Except Dr. NakaMats, who invented the floppy disc. Impressive, yes; but maybe not for mayor. 33% of Tokyoites voted this year, which is pretty high for Japan.

From Tokyo Mango

According to Japan Times turnout was 54.35% up from 44.94% in 2003.

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Asked about the scandals, Mr Ishihara said, “I’ve answered that question many times in detail. Please go read the transcripts of the assembly meetings”.

An Australian politician would never treat reporters with this much contempt, even immediately following an election victory, for fear of being lablelled ‘arrogant’. Australian voters do not like to feel that the politicians who represent their interests take their support for granted. Ishihara demonstrates in these remarks that he is supremely confident and will continue to pursue his detestable policies in the future.

Happy Antipodean

Interesting comment.

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Tokyo’s economy, after all, is bigger than Australia’s. “For the actual impact on the economic well-being of Japan, the Tokyo governor is more important than the prime minister,” says Jesper Koll, Tokyo-based chief economist at Merrill Lynch. “In economic terms, Japan starts in Tokyo and ends in Tokyo.” With so much at stake, many Tokyoites may be wary of a comedian or fortuneteller having a shot at running the city. Japan is essentially a one-party state. That means politicians have little reason to change their ways, especially with the economy recovering. Fear of change is a healthy and unpredictable force that holds public officials accountable. It discourages complacency, and we have seen plenty of that in the six months since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took over. Since Japan’s politicians are not concerned about losing their jobs, they are not desperate to make the economy more competitive, even as China and India emerge as challengers.

Viewpoint: Many run in Tokyo, but voters just can’t say no to Shintaro Ishihara (International Herald Tribune)

This sounds very plausible. If the economy is doing well, who wants to rock the boat. Most people simply don’t.

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Shintaro Ishihara, an outspoken nationalist who is fond of riling Japan’s neighbours, easily secured a third term leading the world’s largest metropolis. Mr Ishihara, who has used racial slurs for Chinese and Korean residents, vowed to devote his fresh four-year mandate to his pet project of bringing the 2016 Summer Olympics to Tokyo. “I have been continuously bashed by the media and there have been regrettable misunderstandings and exaggerations. But the public had good sense and saw through that,” the novelist-turned-politician said.

The Australian

Or perhaps they held their noses and voted Ishihara, because they didn’t want to rock the boat.

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Mr Ishihara was backed by PM Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The governor has won popular support for his straight-talking style. But he has angered others with comments on women, history and foreign residents, who he has blamed for an upsurge in crime. He has also been hit by allegations of cronyism. His main rival, 59-year-old reformer Shiro Asano, is backed by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).

Tokyo governor ‘wins third term’ (BBC)

BBC’s report, a bit short.

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being the biggest city in the world (in terms of population), many residents believe that having such an outspoken leader is necessary to maintain order in an already relatively strict society. and seeing that minority groups represent such a small percentage of tokyo (as well as the fact that unlike myself, almost none of them are eligible to vote), their rights must be hedged to ensure the well-being of the dominant japanese population.

From the expatriated expatriate

The minorities must be stomped on to make us think we are safe, is that it?

Background links:
Wikipedia: Shintaro Ishihara