新社会党No. 1358 Candidate for Tokyo’s Governor Election – Ms. Renho
A Tokyo-based ‘six-party opinion exchanging group’ has decided on Ms. Renho, Member of House of Councilors of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), as a jointly supporting candidate of the constitutional opposition bloc to the coming Tokyo Governor’s election. In the background of the choice lie an enormous bulk of efforts to set up a unified platform of opposition political parties and civic groups. It took local representatives of the organizations five years to attain the shared basis of reliance through debates.
LET’S CHANGE TOKYO’S POLITICS THROUGH JOINT EFFORTS OF CITIZENS AND OPPOSTION POLITICAL PARTIES
Election directly links to state’s politics
Tokyo, the Capital City, will have a governor’s election, balloting on July 7, with election campaign beginning on June 20.
The city has 14.17 million of population and a budget of \8 trillion & 453 billion in its general account (in total \16.6 trillion, if the special account and the accounts from the municipal business sector are included).
Politics in Tokyo is not limited to impacting on the state’s level politics and on local governments in the country; Ms. Renho mentions that ‘we must put an end to the Tokyo’s political direction led by Governor Koike Yuriko who follows the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). A switch in Tokyo will straightly link to the government of national level.’
In anyway, we must let Candidate Renho win governorship, who is nominated by the opposition bloc.
Citizens’ joint efforts have prompted her decision to run
A candidate selection committee has had consultation meetings five times before it reached the final conclusion. The organizers of the committee include Mr. Maekawa Kihei, Mr. Utsunomiya Kenji, Ms. Hama Noriko, Mr. Fukuyama Shingo, and Ms. Hishiyama Nahoko. And belong to it representatives of the six political parties on the local level of Tokyo (the CDP, the Communist Party, the Social-Democratic Party, the Greens-Japan, the Tokyo Residents Network Party and the New Socialist Party) as well as civic groups.
Under the Selection Committee established is the Policy Department, which has chaired three meetings to discuss political affairs. Eventually, as many as 400 items were proposed on ‘problems in Governor Koike’s politics’ as well as ‘political advice’ was provided by the respective organizations. The New Socialist Party, too, presented 41 items of policies, most of which are incorporated.
Its bottom-up scheme has not only properly absorbed voices of people to reflect them in the policies, but also encouraged aspirations of campaigners in the election.
Such accumulated efforts and the recent election victory of Candidate Sakai Natsumi (CDP) in the by-election has undoubtedly led Ms. Renho to making the decision to run; the former was a jointly coordinated candidate of the opposition bloc for the Tokyo’s No.15 Constituency of the House of Representatives election. She has made a crushing defeat on the side of the candidate whom Governor Koike supported.
Tokyo’s politics must be put under control of residents
The NSP has presented its political advice in the meetings, many of which are shared in common by other political and civic entities.
They are;
To construct more public apartments, like Tokyo Municipal Housing Units whose rent is low,
To reduce insurance premiums for health and elderly care services,
To review the development plans of parks, such as the Jingu-Gaien Park, in which developers make profits, and at the same time to preserve environment, protecting trees and plants,
To increase the number of regularly-employed workers, while to reduce workers with irregular status against his/her will, and to establish rules to conclude official contracts,
To increase public funding to subsidize school lunches at elementary and junior high schools up to full coverage and on the permanent basis,
To carry out the free tuition fee service for high schools without any discrimination, covering Korean High Schools for residents in Japan,
To stop dangerous low-altitude flights over the central Tokyo area, and
To oppose bidding casinos in Tokyo
The NSP will fight to change politics of Tokyo with all its strength, appealing these policies during the election campaign.
国政に直結の選挙
首都・東京の知事選は６月20日告示、７月７日投票で行われる。東京都の人口は１４１７万人、一般会計の予算規模は８兆４５３０億円（特別会計・公営企業会計を含めた合計は16・６兆円）。
その政策は、国政や全国の自治体に影響を与えるだけでなく、蓮舫氏が「自民党政治を支えている小池都政は終わらせなければならない」と訴えているように、都政の転換が国政の転換に直結する。何としても、市民と立憲野党共闘が推す蓮舫氏を勝利させなくてはならない。
決意引出した共闘
蓮舫氏の擁立までに、５回の候補者選定委員会での協議があった。選定委員会の呼びかけ人は、前川喜平さん、宇都宮健児さん、浜矩子さん、福山真劫さん、菱山南帆子さんで、委員会には都段階の立憲野党６党（立民・共産・社民・緑の党・生活者ネット・新社会）及び都段階の市民団体が参加した。
選定委員会の下に「政策部会」が設置され、３回開かれた。最終的には４００に及ぶ「小池都政のここが問題」「政策提案」が政党・市民団体から提案された。新社会党も、45の政策を提案し、ほとんどが受容された。
ボトムアップの手法は都民の声の政策化だけでなく、都知事選を闘う主体のやる気を引き出す。
こうした協議の積み重ねや、衆院東京15区の補選で野党共闘の酒井菜摘さん（立憲民主）が大差で勝利し、小池氏が推した候補者を惨敗に追い込んだことが、蓮舫氏の出馬決意に繋がったとみることができるだろう。
都政を庶民の手に
新社会党の政策提案は、他の政党・市民団体の提案と重なったものも多い。
若干紹介する。①都営住宅など低廉な家賃の公共住宅を大幅に増やす、②国保料・介護保険料を引き下げる、③デベロッパーが利益を得る神宮外苑等々の再開発を見直し、かつ樹木・緑などの環境を守る、④正規労働者を増やし、不本意非正規を縮小する。公契約条例の制定、⑤小中学校給食費補助の全額措置化と恒久措置化を図る、⑥朝鮮高校を含む差別なき高校授業料の無償化を図る、⑦危険な都心低空飛行の中止、⑧カジノ誘致反対、等々だ。
新社会党No. 1358 Candidate for Tokyo’s Governor Election – Ms. Renho
A Tokyo-based ‘six-party opinion exchanging group’ has decided on Ms. Renho, Member of House of Councilors of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), as a jointly supporting candidate of the constitutional opposition bloc to the coming Tokyo Governor’s election. In the background of the choice lie an enormous bulk of efforts to set up a unified platform of opposition political parties and civic groups. It took local representatives of the organizations five years to attain the shared basis of reliance through debates.
LET’S CHANGE TOKYO’S POLITICS THROUGH JOINT EFFORTS OF CITIZENS AND OPPOSTION POLITICAL PARTIES
Election directly links to state’s politics
Tokyo, the Capital City, will have a governor’s election, balloting on July 7, with election campaign beginning on June 20.
The city has 14.17 million of population and a budget of \8 trillion & 453 billion in its general account (in total \16.6 trillion, if the special account and the accounts from the municipal business sector are included).
Politics in Tokyo is not limited to impacting on the state’s level politics and on local governments in the country; Ms. Renho mentions that ‘we must put an end to the Tokyo’s political direction led by Governor Koike Yuriko who follows the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). A switch in Tokyo will straightly link to the government of national level.’
In anyway, we must let Candidate Renho win governorship, who is nominated by the opposition bloc.
Citizens’ joint efforts have prompted her decision to run
A candidate selection committee has had consultation meetings five times before it reached the final conclusion. The organizers of the committee include Mr. Maekawa Kihei, Mr. Utsunomiya Kenji, Ms. Hama Noriko, Mr. Fukuyama Shingo, and Ms. Hishiyama Nahoko. And belong to it representatives of the six political parties on the local level of Tokyo (the CDP, the Communist Party, the Social-Democratic Party, the Greens-Japan, the Tokyo Residents Network Party and the New Socialist Party) as well as civic groups.
Under the Selection Committee established is the Policy Department, which has chaired three meetings to discuss political affairs. Eventually, as many as 400 items were proposed on ‘problems in Governor Koike’s politics’ as well as ‘political advice’ was provided by the respective organizations. The New Socialist Party, too, presented 41 items of policies, most of which are incorporated.
Its bottom-up scheme has not only properly absorbed voices of people to reflect them in the policies, but also encouraged aspirations of campaigners in the election.
Such accumulated efforts and the recent election victory of Candidate Sakai Natsumi (CDP) in the by-election has undoubtedly led Ms. Renho to making the decision to run; the former was a jointly coordinated candidate of the opposition bloc for the Tokyo’s No.15 Constituency of the House of Representatives election. She has made a crushing defeat on the side of the candidate whom Governor Koike supported.
Tokyo’s politics must be put under control of residents
The NSP has presented its political advice in the meetings, many of which are shared in common by other political and civic entities.
They are;
The NSP will fight to change politics of Tokyo with all its strength, appealing these policies during the election campaign.
June 12, 2024