Koto Ward Mayor Election Incident: Violations of Public Elections Act Uncovered

2023-12-15 21:00:00

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“The support group is not satisfied. We will take it home.”

March 24th, in the office of the Policy Research Chairman on the 6th floor of the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Nagatacho, Tokyo. Mito Kakizawa (52), a member of the House of Representatives, told the owner of the room, Koichi Hagiuda (60). Koto Ward Mayor Takaaki Yamazaki and his eldest son Ikki (51), a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, were also present. When pressed to support Takaaki, who is aiming for a fifth term in the ward mayor’s election next month, Mr. Kakizawa did not shake his head.

In March, Hagiuda mediated and Kakizawa and Yamazaki father and son faced each other in the policy research chairman’s office on the 6th floor of the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters.

Mr. Kakizawa, who grew up in Koto Ward, worked as a secretary for his father, former Foreign Minister Koji, who died in January 2009 at the age of 75, before being elected to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly in 2001 and 2005, and becoming mayor of the ward at the time. He shared the seat with his predecessor, Takaaki. He was elected as the Minna no Party’s official candidate in the 2009 House of Representatives election. With the backing of a strong support group dating back to his father’s generation, he was repeatedly elected while switching between multiple political parties.

The deepening conflict with Yamazaki’s father and son began in the 2021 House of Representatives election, when Mr. Kakizawa, who was an independent, ran from his hometown in Tokyo’s 15th ward with the support of Liberal Democratic Party campaign officials.

Tokyo Metropolitan Federation chairman Hagiuda and his father and son Yamazaki objected to Kakizawa running for the Liberal Democratic Party and supported another candidate. The party headquarters made the unprecedented decision to recommend both Mr. Kakizawa and another candidate, leading to a “confrontation between conservatives.” Mr. Kakizawa’s secretary told this newspaper, “Our supporters were harassed by Mr. Takaaki.” Several former LDP ward councilors have revealed that Takaaki contacted town chairpersons in the ward by phone, telling them, “Please don’t let them go into the dead.” “The feud between the Kakizawa and Yamazaki families became decisive by interfering with Mizou.”

Kazuki Yamazaki, on the other hand, said of the time, “There was no harassment or anything.The problem was that Kakizawa left the Liberal Democratic Party in the 15th ward without the understanding of the local community.He should have done justice.” Even following winning the House of Representatives election, the rift between Mr. Kakizawa and the Toren Yamazaki family was so deep that he was unable to become the party’s official candidate in the next House of Representatives election for over a year.

According to people involved, at a meeting of the Policy Research Chair’s Office in March, Mr. Kakizawa was promised that he would become the head of the constituency branch if he supported Mr. Takaaki.

After that, Mr. Takaaki’s health deteriorated and he suddenly passed away at the age of 79, four days before the announcement of the election for ward mayor. Mr. Ikki ran to succeed him, and was supported by Toren and local Liberal Democratic Party councilors. Mr. Kakizawa’s side did not move to support Mr. Yamazaki, but behind the scenes, they fully supported his opponent, Yayoi Kimura (58).

Mr. Kimura’s father, Mr. Ben (84), built a career as a member of the Koto Ward Assembly, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, and the House of Representatives, and ran for the House of Representatives in 2000 and 2003 with Koji Kakizawa, and in 2009 with Mizuki. fought for a seat. Regarding the local political situation in which two generations of the Kakizawa, Yamazaki, and Kimura families compete for political power, a former ward councilor describes it as “Koto Ward’s version of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” referring to the ancient Chinese wars of warlords.

Why did Mr. Kakizawa approach the Kimura family, who had been enemies during his father’s generation? Some believe that he wanted to weaken the influence of the Yamazaki family in anticipation of the next House of Representatives election. Yayoi Kimura had been eyeing the candidate since last fall as a candidate who might win the ward mayor’s election. She served two terms as a member of the House of Representatives in Kyoto and other areas, but was defeated in 2021, and she had just returned to her hometown.

　Koto Ward mayoral election incidentThere are three charges of violation of the Public Elections Act that the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office Special Investigation Department is investigating. (1) The elected candidate Yayoi Kimura’s side posted paid Internet advertisements on YouTube during the ward mayor election period. It was proposed by Miyo Kakizawa, a member of the House of Representatives who supported it. (2) Mr. Kakizawa’s side provided cash and approached ward councilors. There is a suspicion that Mr. Kimura was bribed to collect votes for Mr. Kimura, but Mr. Kakizawa’s side denies any illegality, saying it was a “visit to the camp” for the ward assembly election that was being held at the same time. (3) Mr. Kakizawa’s side is suspected of paying illegal compensation totaling approximately 910,000 yen to 13 people, including staff of Mr. Kimura’s campaign.

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Suspicions of violations of the Public Elections Act surfaced one following another during the Koto Ward mayoral election in April, and Kimura was investigated by the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, leading to his resignation following just six months. Mr. Kakizawa and his secretaries were the ones who were encroaching on the chaotic election. Explore the undercurrent of the incident. (This series will be written by Masanori Inoue and Gaku Nakayama)


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