Japan Press Weekly

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2016 October 12 - 18 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Joint opposition candidate wins Niigata gubernatorial election

In the Niigata gubernatorial election held on October 16, the major issue in which was whether to accept the planned restart of a nuclear power plant in the prefecture, the joint opposition candidate defeated his rival supported by the ruling parties.

The election became a one-on-one fight between unified opposition candidate Yoneyama Ryuichi, who pledges to work to block the Abe government plan to reactivate the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station, and former Nagaoka City Mayor Mori Tamio backed by the governing Liberal Democratic and Komei parties. Yoneyama obtained 528,455 votes (52.2% of the total poll), while Mori garnered 465,044 votes (45.9%).

Under the situation where the largest opposition Democratic Party did not clarify which runner it sided with, the Japanese Communist Party worked hard for Yoneyama’s victory together with various civic groups and other opposition parties such as the Social Democratic and Liberal (former People’s Life) parties. Startled by media reports of a “really close contest”, the central government, the LDP headquarters, and the power industry exercised more rigid control in all quarters and waged intense anticommunist campaigns. However, their attempts ended in failure.

After the election outcome was announced, JCP Chair Shii Kazuo held a news conference at the JCP head office in Tokyo.

Shii noted that Yoneyama’s victory has clearly shown the strong local opposition to the planned restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPP. He demanded that the Abe administration and the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company take this public verdict seriously and give up on the restarting plan.

The JCP chair also stressed that this historic success will greatly help to develop cooperation between opposition parties and the general public across the country. The JCP will make its best efforts to support the newly-elected governor and promote joint struggles with the public nationwide, he added.

Past related article:
> Joint opposition candidate will run in Niigata gubernatorial election focusing on NPP reactivation [September 24 & 25, 2016]