TOKYO —

Official campaigning began Friday for the July 12 Tokyo metropolitan assembly election, widely seen as a bellwether for the upcoming general election to be held by October, with 221 people filing their candidacies to vie for the 127 seats.
   
The focus is on whether the ruling bloc of the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party will retain its majority or if the opposition Democratic Party of Japan will become the leading party, boosting expectations that it can win the general election and bring about a change of government.
   
It is widely expected that Prime Minister Taro Aso will seek an early dissolution of the House of Representatives for the national election if the ruling coalition secures a majority, while its defeat could lead the LDP to hold a presidential election to replace Aso as its head prior to the lower house race.
   
Of the 221 candidates, a record 52 are women. The LDP and DPJ each officially endorsed 58 candidates, New Komeito 23, the Japanese Communist Party 40, Tokyo Seikatsusha Network five and the Social Democratic Party two.
   
Currently, 48 assembly members belong to the LDP, 34 to the DPJ, 22 to New Komeito, 13 to the Japanese Communist Party, four to Tokyo Seikatsusha Network, and four are independents. Two seats are vacant.
   
Both ruling and opposition parties have arranged national election-level forces for the high-profile race, in which the local government’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games and its relocation plan for the Tsukiji fish market are among major points of contention.
   
Kick-starting the nine-day campaign, Prime Minister Taro Aso gave speeches in Ome city and Bunkyo Ward in which he said that while the DPJ may be aiming to change the government, ‘‘the point is what they will do after winning power?’‘
   
Aso said he has concentrated on economic measures since taking office in September and stressed ‘‘the achievements’’ made, saying the government had compiled budgets four times during the six months which resulted in rises in stock prices and economic indicators.
   
‘‘What will the DPJ do if they realize a change of government? I don’t know their goals,’’ Aso said, adding an LDP retreat is likely to lead to ‘‘a retreat of the economy.’‘
   
DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama galvanized voters at the Tsukiji market in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward, appealing to them to ‘‘put control of Tokyo and Japan back into the hands of the people through the DPJ.’‘
   
Hatoyama noted that more than 100 people are killing themselves in Japan every day amid the sharp economic downturn and blasted the government for ‘‘doing nothing’’ to save human lives.
   
‘‘They’re only enthusiastic about white elephant facility construction projects,’’ he said. ‘‘With your courage, let’s realize a government that will not waste even a single life.’‘
   
‘‘Today, we can see the dawn before a new government is created that will prioritize people over concrete,’’ the opposition leader said.
   
The planned relocation of the Tsukiji market in 2014 to a nearby site where the soil is feared to be polluted has stirred controversy.
   
New Komeito party leader Akihiro Ota criticized Hatoyama while addressing hundreds of supporters in front of a train station in Arakawa Ward.
   
While referring to a recent scandal over the falsification of political fund reports related to the DPJ leader, Ota said, ‘‘People probably expect nothing from the opposition group led by the DPJ, which doesn’t work, hasn’t achieved anything and is not trustworthy.’‘
   
JCP chief Kazuo Shii stressed in his campaign speech in Suginami Ward that it is necessary to promote welfare, and SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima said in Ota Ward, ‘‘The time has come to change politics…We need to spend money not on building roads but on childcare, medical and nursing fields.’‘
   
Other major issues in the campaign include sloppy management of Shinginko Tokyo, a struggling bank owned primarily by the Tokyo metropolitan government.
   
The bank began operating in 2005 on a policy initiative led by Tokyo Gov Shintaro Ishihara to provide financing mainly to credit-starved small businesses. It has been in the red since its launch. The Tokyo government has invested about 140 billion yen in the troubled bank.
   
As the party leaders come to the fore in the campaign ahead of the House of Representatives election, some of the 10 million voters in the capital see the assembly election as a preliminary skirmish for the general election.
   
‘‘I see the assembly election as almost equal to the lower house election,’’ 46-year-old company worker Naoko Nakade said. ‘‘But it is difficult to decide who to vote for because the LDP and the DPJ both have problems.’‘
   
‘‘I’d like to vote for a candidate from a party that says it will eliminate the practice of ‘amakudari,’‘’ she said in Bunkyo Ward, referring to a system that enables senior bureaucrats to land lucrative post-retirement jobs at entities related to the sectors they formerly supervised. She also said she is more focused on national matters than local issues.
   
But another voter expressed a different view.
   
‘‘The Tokyo assembly election is not related to the general election,’’ said Kaoru Matsumoto, 58. ‘‘I would like to vote for a person who is reliable and listens to local people’s views,’’ she said, adding she will decide who to vote for on the basis of the candidate’s personality rather than which party he or she belongs to.
   
To boost public support for the LDP, Aso has visited almost all of its candidates’ campaign offices, an unconventional move for a party leader.
   
As the LDP has experienced consecutive losses in major local elections recently, some party lawmakers have argued that Aso should step down if the LDP suffers another loss in the metropolitan assembly race.
   
Even if the LDP succeeds in retaining its majority with the New Komeito party, moves within the party to oust Aso could strengthen if the LDP fails to maintain its position as the leading party.
   
Aso has tried to downplay the importance of the assembly election, saying at a press conference, ‘‘A local election is a local election. It’s different from a national election…I don’t think it will influence national politics,’’ suggesting he would not need to take responsibility if the party is defeated.

Kyodo

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8 Comments

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  blvtzpk at 01:19 PM JST - 4th July

  "Mom...stop it...I told you before...not in PUBLIC!!!"

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  buggerlugs at 03:05 PM JST - 4th July

  The LDP is dead!! Long live the carbon copy replacement!!

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  kwatt at 06:14 PM JST - 4th July

  My son! let me kiss you. I bet you win the game!

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  LoveUSA at 06:30 PM JST - 4th July

  there are women who want to kiss this guy. the world is an amazing place.

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  Dubya at 06:46 PM JST - 4th July

  Having to endure election campaigns has got to be the absolute WORST aspect of living in Japan! This stuff is torture!

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  gogogo at 07:31 PM JST - 4th July

  Aso said he has concentrated on economic measures since taking office in September and stressed ‘‘the achievements’’ made, saying the government had compiled budgets four times during the six months which resulted in rises in stock prices and economic indicators.

  This is totally wrong, look at the japanese yen vs last year, compling a budget 4 times means you did it wrong 3 other times.

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  LoveUSA at 08:47 PM JST - 4th July

  I bet she is a rich well provided woman, not a poor elderly lady counting her coins for rice.

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  LIBERTAS at 09:50 PM JST - 4th July

  Just give Aso a little time and enough rope. He never disappoints.

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