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JCP member wins his third term as Komae City mayor In a mayoral election in Komae City in southern Tokyo, Yano Yutaka, the incumbent mayor and Japanese Communist Party member, won his third term on June 20. Backed by a citizens' group embracing a wide spectrum of supporters which included the JCP, Yano received 15,940 votes, defeating his challenger, Kasai Nobumi who got 15,804 votes. The result was impressive in that Yano's opponent, supported by the Liberal Democratic, Komei, and Democratic parties as well as the Tokyo Trade Union Federation (Rengo Tokyo), was eight times stronger in terms of basic vote-based strength. The outcome reflects the development of cooperation between the JCP and Komae citizens taking pride in the eight years of Yano's effort to reconstruct the city finances with his administration aimed at serving citizens, the key players. During the campaign, Tokyo Governor Ishihara Shintaro and other influential politicians spoke from campaign cars desperately trying to drum up support for Kasai. Eight years of service to citizens supported Komae City has a population of 77,000. Mayor Yano Yutaka took over the city administration eight years ago through an election held after the former mayor suddenly left office leaving a debt of four billion yen caused by his gambling. Until then, for about 20 years, Yano had served as a city assembly member. Yano has transformed the debt-ridden city administration that once served special interests into a clean and fair government. He tries to maintain as much as possible the transparency in the way tax money is used, primarily for improving citizens' livelihoods instead of funding unnecessary public works projects. He has taken measures to rebuild city finances and at the same time provided wider civic services. Yano's administration has increased nursing-care facilities for elderly people and provided free medical services for infants. His thorough disclosure of information, including his own daily records as a mayor, was the first for a municipality nationwide and has attracted mass media attention. (end) |
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