DPJ depends on Rengo money and votes

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

DPJ depends on Rengo money and votes

With the Upper House election approaching, the Democratic Party of Japan is increasingly leaning on the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), the largest DPJ support base, for money, the rounding up of votes, and organizational campaigns to produce Rengo-backed DPJ politicians.

Rengo in its DPJ support rally resolved to work for a victory of all the candidates who used to be union representatives, but at the same time it called on its member unions as well as individual members to strictly comply with election laws.

In the general election last year, a chairman of the Rengo Sapporo Chapter in Hokkaido was arrested on a cash-for-favors charge in DPJ Kobayashi Chiyomi’s campaign. Some other officials of the Rengo-affiliated Hokkaido Teachers Union were also arrested for providing illegal campaign funds to Kobayashi.

In the upcoming House of Councilors election, the DPJ is putting up 16 candidates endorsed by Rengo unions. Similar to Kobayashi, Nataniya Masayoshi (proportional representation bloc) belongs to a political organization of a Rengo-affiliated teachers union. In the previous Upper House election, union representatives including a chairman were also arrested for violation of the Public Office Election Law by giving money to other unions to round up votes in Nataniya’s election campaign.

Some campaigners of Koshiishi Azuma (Yamanashi bloc) in the past Upper House election as well as an accountant of a Rengo-affiliated teachers’ union were ordered to pay a fine for violating the Political Funds Control Law.

Naoshima Masayuki (proportional representation bloc) is also endorsed by the Rengo-affiliated Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers’ Union. He received 272.5 million yen in political donations from this union and from a political body of another Rengo-affiliated Federation of All Toyota Workers’ Unions during six years since 2003.

The DPJ-Rengo coalition in election campaigns has frequently been criticized in the Diet.

Rengo-affiliated unions mobilize their members in election campaigns of Rengo-turned DPJ candidates and sometimes use opaque funds in their campaigns. Such a way of campaigning clearly violates the freedom of individual political belief.

- Akahata, June 11, 2010