Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2013 October 9 - 15 [POLITICS]

Residents’ signature campaign kicks off for governor’s recall

A civic group on October 8 launched a signature campaign calling for a referendum on the recall of the Kagoshima governor in protest against his use of tax money to fly 300 public workers to Shanghai for a visit.

Governor Ito Yuichiro in June submitted to the prefectural assembly a plan to send 1,000 Kagoshima prefectural government workers to Shanghai in order to maintain an air route from Kagoshima to Shanghai which suffers from a decline in demand. Due to a flood of criticism, he reduced the initial number of staff to 300 and went ahead with the plan.

At a press conference, a representative of the civic group said, “The governor should use our tax money for medical, welfare, and educational purposes instead of public works projects.” Asking for a wide range of cooperation, he expressed his hope for this campaign to become an opportunity for many residents to think about what is best for Kagoshima.

If signatures from more than 273,000 voters are received within two months, the prefectural government needs to hold a referendum on the governor’s recall. If a majority of votes support his recall, he will be removed from office.

The Japanese Communist Party’s Kagoshima prefectural committee has announced that it will ask its members and supporters to take part in this campaign to help improve residents’ living conditions.