Japan Press Weekly

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2019 September 4 - 10 [POLITICS]

Opposition candidate winner in Iwate gubernatorial election

In the Iwate gubernatorial election held on September 8, a joint opposition candidate running for his fourth term in office won against an opponent backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic and Komei parties. This follows the recent success of opposition parties' concerted efforts in the Saitama governor race.

Tasso Takuya supported by the Japanese Communist Party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Democratic Party for the People, and the Social Democratic Party received 72.15% of total votes cast, outnumbering his rival in all 33 municipalities in the prefecture.

Following the Saitama gubernatorial election in August, the opposition party alliance soundly defeated the candidate backed by the ruling parties.

In the Iwate Prefectural Assembly election held on the same day, the JCP secured its pre-election strength of three incumbent seats.

Iwate is one of the severely affected prefectures following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. During the election campaign, Tasso appealed to voters that he will continue to push ahead with the recovery policies related to the disaster and will also promote citizens' participation in regional economic development planning. His election platform attracted a wide range of voters.

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JCP Secretariat Head Koike Akira on September 9 held a press conference in the Diet building and regarding the Iwate election result he said, "Tasso's victory clearly shows that the joint struggles of opposition parties and concerned citizens are making great progress."

Koike added, "The Iwate prefectural government under the leadership of Tasso has been carrying out policies to benefit the prefectural residents and disaster victims such as providing free medical care for children up to 12 years old and waiving medical fees in addition to nursing-care service charges for disaster victims. Iwate voters gave an overwhelmingly positive evaluation to Tasso's achievements."

Koike expressed his determination to work to oust the Abe government as soon as possible and establish a coalition government of opposition parties and said, "The victory in Iwate after the victory in Saitama reflects the general public’s voices in protest against the present government." Koike added, "The JCP as a ruling member in the Iwate prefectural assembly will fully support the Tasso-led prefectural government."

Past related article:
> Joint opposition candidate wins in Saitama gubernatorial election [August 27, 2019]