Latest news with #PathtoRebirth
Asahi Shimbun
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
Sanseito wins 1st Tokyo assembly seats; Ishimaru's party shut out
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya speaks at the party's headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward on June 22. (Akari Sugiyama) Rising party Sanseito secured its first seats in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly on June 22 while newcomer Saisei no Michi (The Path to Rebirth) failed miserably after much fanfare. Sanseito candidate Masanori Mochizuki, 35, won an assembly seat in Setagaya Ward, while party colleague Sanae Ezaki, 39, was successful in Nerima Ward. The conservative party promotes 'Japanese First' policies that have been compared with the 'America First' thinking of U.S. President Donald Trump. The party fielded four candidates in the Tokyo assembly election, including Mochizuki. 'Thanks to the efforts of our candidates, the party's leadership election, the release of our draft constitution, and other ongoing activities, we've been able to increase people's awareness of our party online,' Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya said on the evening of June 22. When he was projected to win a seat, Mochizuki said: 'This is the result of the party's steady efforts. But it's just a milestone. Our party members will unite to work harder for the Upper House election next month.' In the assembly election campaign, Sanseito advocated a 50-percent reduction in the metropolitan government's residential tax, public ownership of essential infrastructure, such as crematoriums and subways, and the distribution of 'rice coupons' to households with children and those facing financial hardship. Sanseito has been gaining support across the country largely through YouTube videos and social media. It also built on the momentum it gained from recent city assembly elections on June 15. First-time candidates from Sanseito won the most votes in the elections in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, Nishio, Aichi Prefecture, and Awara, Fukui Prefecture. ZERO FOR 42 For the Path to Rebirth, the outcome of the election could not have been worse. The party fielded 42 candidates across 35 electoral districts, but none of them gained a seat. The regional political party was established in January by Shinji Ishimaru, who attracted national attention by placing second in the Tokyo gubernatorial election last year with around 1.66 million votes. But the new party had a relatively short preparation period to decide on candidates and devise strategy for the assembly election. Despite the shutout of his party, Ishimaru said it has accomplished one of its missions. 'As the party leader, I don't cling to results like that,' he said at a news conference on the night of June 22. 'Our goal was to field candidates in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election, which we have already achieved.' He had called for broad public participation in politics, and his candidate recruitment effort attracted 1,128 applicants. The chosen candidates included employees from major companies and some executives. The Path to Rebirth matched the Liberal Democratic Party for the most candidates fielded in the election. Ishimaru's party presented no concrete policy platform, except for limiting its successful candidates' time in the assembly to 'two terms or eight years.' The party's candidates were allowed to shape their own campaign messages. Ishimaru joined the candidates on the streets, appealing to voters by saying: 'The current Tokyo government lacks a functioning dual-representation system. The Path to Rebirth offers a better alternative for the assembly.' However, Ishimaru himself did not run in the election. Official endorsements for the party's candidates were only finalized about two months before the election campaign started, giving them limited time to build name recognition in their districts. One party candidate said, 'People generally know who Ishimaru is, but voters asked me, 'What is the Path to Rebirth?'
Yomiuri Shimbun
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
17％ of Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Election Voters Consulted Social Media Before Casting Ballot; Percentage Was Equal to Those Who Referred to Newspapers
The Yomiuri Shimbun conducted an exit survey of voters in Sunday's Tokyo metropolitan assembly election, receiving responses from about 21,000 people. Among other questions, the survey asked respondents about their main source of information before casting their ballot. 17% pointed to social media and video-sharing sites, making this option tied with newspapers for second place. The most cited information source was official election bulletins, at 26%. News websites and news applications accounted for 14%, and 11% said their source was TV. More than 20% of survey respondents aged 18 and 19, and the same proportion of those in their 20s, 30s and 40s, said they regarded social media as important. The proportion of those in their 50s who said this was not much lower. Of those who regarded social media et al as an important information source, a plurality, at 24%, voted for regional political party the Path to Rebirth. Voters emphasizing social media also included many who voted for Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites first group) at 15% and the Democratic Party For the People at 13%, while those who voted for the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito and Japanese Communist Party candidates accounted for less than 10% each. During the election campaign, all political parties tried to make the most of social media and video-sharing sites, though voters who regard these things as important seem to have an existing slant.
Yomiuri Shimbun
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan's Smaller Parties Seek Toehold in Tokyo Assembly as Campaigning Kicks Off
The Yomiuri Shimbun From left: Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People; Mari Kushibuchi, co-leader of Reiwa Shinsengumi; Shinji Ishimaru, head of the Path to Rebirth With campaigning having started for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, some parties with no seats in the assembly took to aggressively fielding their candidates. They aim to win their first seats and build momentum for the House of Councillors election that will soon follow. One such party is the Democratic Party for the People, which had a breakthrough in last year's House of Representatives election, where it quadrupled its number of seats. The party has put up 18 candidates for the Tokyo election, hoping to make up for the last race in 2021, when all four of its candidates lost. In some cases, it has coordinated on which districts to run its candidates with the Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites first group), a regional party for which Gov. Yuriko Koike serves as a special advisor. Calling for 'increased take-home pay of the people of Tokyo,' the party will focus on such policies as supporting households raising children. 'This is a fight to win our first seat in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. I want to come at this as a challenger,' said party leader Yuichiro Tamaki in his first speech for the campaign. 'We will make sure that what we have worked so hard to earn will, as much as possible, stay in our pockets.' Meanwhile, Reiwa Shinsengumi put up a total of three candidates in Setagaya, Nerima and Suginami wards, each of which has six to eight seats, as the party looks to ensure that the candidates it does run make it into the assembly. In its campaign pledges, Reiwa stresses the need for an 'aggressive fiscal policy' in Tokyo, as it does for national politics. The party aims to improve the lives of Tokyo residents by expanding rent subsidies and reviewing large-scale redevelopment projects. 'We'll strive to repair and improve infrastructure such as for the water supply, so that we may build a foundation for Tokyo residents to live with peace of mind,' said Mari Kushibuchi, the party's co-leader. 'We must make metropolitan politics more transparent,' she added, referring to how Liberal Democratic Party members in the assembly failed to report income from political fundraising parties. 'Let's show how intelligent voters are, and kick out the scandal-plagued assembly members in this Tokyo assembly election.' Another political party, the Path to Rebirth, which was set up in January by Shinji Ishimaru, a former mayor of Akitakata, Hiroshima Prefecture, aims to 'clean out the career politicians.' The regional party is fielding 42 candidates. In Tokyo's gubernatorial election last summer, Ishimaru was not backed by any political party, but he used social media to gain support from independents and finished in second place. He remains popular, with his party's call for candidates for the Tokyo assembly election drawing 1,128 applicants. He also drew attention when he broadcast the selection process for candidates live on YouTube. The party is taking an unusual approach to this election. Its platform simply states that elected members will serve only two terms, or eight years in total. There are no party policies. 'Our party is neither a ruling nor an opposition party. Neither right nor left. Let us each take the right path. That's our concept,' Ishimaru said in his first speech for the campaign.
