Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2024 January 31 - February 6 [POLITICS]

Reformist polls well against conservative rival in Kyoto City mayoral race

In the Kyoto City mayoral election on February 4, Fukuyama Kazuto, recommended by a civic group working for a democratic Kyoto City in which the Japanese Communist Party participates, polled well against a conservative opponent but fell short of winning the race.

It was, in effect, a one-on-one battle between reformists and conservatives.

Fukuyama received 161,203 votes while his rival, a former House of Councilors member backed mainly by the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komei Party, received 177,454 votes. The voter turnout was 41.67%.

During the campaign, the conservative camp, shocked by news reports projecting an “equal match”, intensified its anti-communist attacks trying to split the collaboration between the JCP and concerned citizens. In response, the Fukuyama camp appealed for a “shift from large-scale development to a politics that prioritizes people’s livelihoods, from money-for-favor politics to a politics built by residents’ voices.”

JCP Secretariat Head Koike Akira at a press conference in the Diet building on February 5 said, “We regret that Fukuyama failed to win, but I’d like to express my appreciation and respect to everyone who strived very hard for his victory.”

Koike added, “Fukuyama during the election campaign promised a ‘package’ of policies to support people’s lives and childrearing, and he said that the package can be realized by changing only 1% of the city’s finances. His appeal received a great response from many voters.” Koike expressed his determination that the JCP in Kyoto City will do its utmost to make all the policies in the package happen.