Japan Press Weekly

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2007 October 24 - 30 [JCP]

JCP member candidate puts up good fight in Higashiosaka City mayoral election

In the mayoral election of Higashiosaka City (Osaka Pref.) held on October 28, incumbent candidate Nagao Junzo, a Japanese Communist Party member, made a good effort but was defeated by a narrow margin of 2,000 votes by a candidate supported by the Liberal Democratic and Komei parties.

The mayoral election took place because the LDP and Komei Party used their majority in the City Assembly to pass a motion of no confidence in Nagao.

Nagao received 70,454 votes (42.6 percent of the total poll), 18,600 votes more than in the previous election in 2006.

The number of votes Nagao gained was 1.7 times more than that the JCP received in the city assembly election last September and 2.5 times more than the JCP votes in the city in the House of Councilors proportional representation election last July.

In contrast, the LDP-Komei Party candidate received only three fourths of their total votes in the city assembly election.

After being reelected in July 2006, Mayor Nagao steadily implemented policies to fulfill his campaign promises, including the cancellation of a plan to construct a city office building costing 2.4 billion yen.

In the election campaign, Nagao called for the eradication of wasteful spending and further advance of the city administration that defends the living conditions of the residents.

A wide range of residents gave support to him. “I can hardly make a living. Please ease the burdens of national health insurance and nursing-care insurance premiums,” many residents said.

The residents also voiced strong criticism of the LDP and Komei Party for forcibly passing a motion of no confidence in Nagao, a mayor who had nothing to do with scandals or misadministration. Support for Nagao grew among residents irrespective of their party affiliation.

The opponent camp advocated restoration of the city office building construction plan. They turned their back on the residents’ wishes, saying, “It is just impossible to reduce insurance premiums.”

Leaders and Dietmembers of the LDP and Komei Party rushed into the city and pressured various residents’ organizations to support their candidate.

The Komei Party mobilized many members of Soka Gakkai, the party’s parent organization, from across the region. They mounted a demagogic campaign in the streets, shouting, “End the communist city administration!”
- Akahata, October 30, 2007