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Acting Governor Kensaku Morita announced at a press conference on November 12 that he would not run for the Chiba prefectural governor election in the spring of 2021.
On the other hand, it is difficult to select candidates within the PLD and it is attracting attention not only in Chiba prefecture but also in Nagata city. The LDP Chiba Prefectural Federation initially moved towards supporting Mr. Daichi Suzuki, an Olympic swimming gold medalist and former director of the Sports Agency, but the decline was reported at the “last minute”, which is an unexpected situation. The Chiba prefectural governor election is expected to continue to be turbulent. I will explain trends related to unique local circumstances.
I thought “I can win with Suzuki Daichi” …
According to a person familiar with the matter, incumbent Governor Kensaku Morita had informed PLD Chiba Kenren that he would like to proceed with the selection of a successor even before announcing that he would not run.
Therefore, the PLD Chiba Kenren is looking for a gubernatorial candidate under the hood. It was Mr. Daichi Suzuki, who is widely known as an Olympic swimming gold medalist in Seoul and has administrative experience as the director of the Sports Agency for five years until September this year. On October 5, the Chiba Prefectural Federation of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Speaker of the House of Representatives Hiromichi Watanabe and other executives called Mr. Suzuki to a hotel in Tokyo and called it a “discussion” to pave the way. for a prior request.
In response to this, members of the Chiba Prefecture Diet met on October 14 and confirmed that they would “formally decide on an application to run for Mr. Suzuki at the end of October.”
It was Toshito Kumagai, the mayor of Chiba City, who was supposed to be a rival horse when Mr. Suzuki raced. Kumagai, who was also noted for responding to the new corona virus, was originally from a local council member of the former Democratic Party, and is said to have been motivated to be elected governor for some time. Expectations for Mr. Suzuki were rising within the PLD as a “candidate who could compete with Mr. Kumagai.”
The PLD in Chiba is divided into two factions
However, what I have to mention here is the local situation of the PLD, which is peculiar to Chiba prefecture. The Chiba Prefectural Assembly Liberal Democratic Party is roughly divided into two factions, the “Kawakami faction” led by Shigeru Kawakami, the secretary general of the prefectural federation, and the “Ishii faction” led by Junichi Ishii, the Undersecretary General of the PLD headquarters. Mr. Kawakami, who has official authority as head, is said to be the “head of the prefectural assembly”.
In adjusting candidates for the Chiba prefectural governor election this time, the “Kawakami faction” recommended Mr. Suzuki, while the “Ishii faction” was closing in on Mr. Kumagai. At the aforementioned parliamentary meeting, he confirmed the direction to recommend Mr. Suzuki as a prefectural federation, but only Mr. Ishii showed the opposite attitude. Watanabe Kenren emphasized that he wanted to avoid divided elections, but the composition was exactly like divided elections.
At the last minute, Mr. Daichi Suzuki NG “We have to think zero”
However, the situation changed on October 28. It was an event as the deadline for the PLD Chiba Prefectural Federation to “support Mr. Suzuki within a month” was approaching. LDP Chiba prefecture executives met with Mr. Suzuki along with former Prime Minister Mori, chairman of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee. Mr. Mori told Mr. Suzuki, “It’s okay if you don’t show up (in the governor’s election), but you don’t know much about the election.
On the same day, Suzuki himself, who had not declared that he would run, told the prefectural executives that he would not run because “there is strong opposition, so it is difficult to apply for the race in this situation.”
Mr. Mori responded to the news report on the 30th, taking into account the aforementioned move by Mr. Kumagai: “It is decided to go muddy (in a split election). If you throw Mr. Daichi Suzuki in such a place, it will be miserable. I thought it would be. ” If Mr. Suzuki is involved in the split election of the PLD and loses, his career as a gold medalist will be damaged before the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
As a result, the prefectural federation, operating on the premise of supporting Mr. Suzuki, was forced to “think on a zero basis” (prefectural federation executive). A member of the Chiba Prefecture Diet sighed: “No, it’s difficult, no one would run because of this situation.”
Is there a better candidate than Mayor Kumagai Chiba?
Mayor Kumagai Chiba officially announced on November 2 that he would like to dedicate all my thoughts and skills to the Chiba prefecture and the citizens of the prefecture. After that, he attended Junichi Ishii’s political fund party and asked for help.
On the other hand, the Chiba Prefectural Federation of the PLD is proceeding with the selection of candidates to replace Mr. Daichi Suzuki, focused on executives, and names such as Mr. Shoichi Usui and Mr. Masayuki Seki have emerged, members of the prefectural assembly. It is being tested whether it is possible to make a candidate who can compete with Kumagai’s name recognition and how to converge the division within the party.
The term of the current governor Morita expires in April 2021, but the electoral weapon is already ringing. Not only in Chiba prefecture, but also in Nagata City, the focus is on future developments.
(Fuji TV Isamu Yamada Political Department)
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