Kyoto gubernatorial election starts

The election campaign for the governor of Kyoto started on March 21. Voters will cast their ballots on April 7. It is the first time in 16 years that no incumbent candidate is running.

Morikawa Akira is an independent candidate supported by the Japanese Communist Party.

Fuwa Tetsuzo, JCP Central Committee chair, spoke to 6,000 people in Kyoto City, calling on them to support Morikawa in order to end the corrupt politics of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Fuwa emphasized the importance of the election, saying, "This election takes place at a time when everyone in this country is seeking ways to get rid of the outdated and corrupt LDP politics." He suggested that many good policies under the progressive prefectural government which existed before be restored, such as supporting medium- and small-sized businesses.

Fuwa also criticized Suzuki Muneo and Kato Koichi, who left the LDP, for their concession-hunting, and pointed out that money collected by them is flowing into Kyoto. He stressed that Kyoto must not allow politicians of their groups to be part of the prefectural government.

Morikawa, who got 360,000 votes (41% of all votes) last time, takes on vice-governor Yamada Keiji who is supported by the LDP, the Democratic Party of Japan, the Komei Party, and the Social Democratic Party. (end)