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Shintaro Ishihara, Naoki Inose Projected to Win Elections
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
Former Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara and his handpicked replacement, fellow writer Naoki Inose (Last News, Kaji Ryūsuke no Gi), are both expected to win their prospective political seats. Ishihara is running for a seat in Japan's lower house and Inose is running against nine other candidates for Ishihara's old governor position.
The 80-year-old Ishihara resigned as Tokyo governor in October and established a new political party, Japan Restoration Party (Taiyō no Tō or literally, "Party of the Sun"), with Osaka Mayor Tōru Hashimoto. His campaign focused on taking away policymaking control from the Japanese bureaucracy, strengthening maritime defenses, and rewriting the pacifist Constitution established after World War II.
Ishihara is a major advocate of Tokyo's amended Youth Healthy Development Ordinance; the amendment expanded the number of manga and anime that fall under "harmful publications," the legal category of works that must not be sold or rented to people under the age of 18. He has also served the head of the executive committee for the Tokyo International Anime Fair (TAF); Ishihara's stance on the ordinance amendment led to a boycott of the fair by 10 major publishers of manga.
Inose also supported the amended Youth Healthy Development Ordinance and presented Seiji Matsuyama's Oku-sama wa Shōgakusei (My Wife Is an Elementary Student) manga on television as an example of which manga should be restricted.
Ishihara attempted to have the Tokyo Metropolitan Government purchase part of the Senkaku Islands in April. That led to the national government to purchase the islands outright in September, sparking international tension with China and the cancellation of several events.
In taking up the governor position, Inose plans to continue the unfinished work left by Ishihara when he stepped down in October, including a bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics, reforming the power industry, and integrating Tokyo's two subway systems.
Source: The Japan Times (link 2)
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