Politics of Kanagawa

Last updated

Politics of Kanagawa, as in all prefectures of Japan, takes place in the framework of local autonomy that is guaranteed by the Constitution and laid out in the Local Autonomy Law. The administration is headed by a governor directly elected by the people every four years in first-past-the-post elections. Legislation, the budget and the approval of personnel appointments, including the (in Kanagawa: three) vice governors, are handled by the prefectural assembly that is directly elected by the people every four years by single-non transferable vote.

Contents

Kanagawa is one of the most populous prefectures, second only to neighbouring Tokyo, and the only prefecture to contain three designated cities, among them the prefectural capital of Yokohama, the largest city of Japan.

National representation

Kanagawa's electoral districts for the House of Representatives Zhong Yi Yuan Xiao Xuan Ju Qu Shen Nai Chuan Xian .svg
Kanagawa's electoral districts for the House of Representatives

Kanagawa is currently represented by 18 directly elected Representatives and temporarily seven Councillors (four elected every three years) in the national Diet.

For the House of Representatives, it is part of the Southern Kantō proportional representation block along with neighbouring Yamanashi and Chiba in the East. Representatives from Kanagawa in Liberal Democratic strongholds, the so-called "conservative kingdoms" (hoshu ōkoku), include Shinjirō Koizumi, the son of former Prime Minister Jun'ichirō Koizumi (11th district), Tarō Kōno (15th district), the son of former Liberal Democratic Party president Yōhei Kōno (17th district until his retirement in 2009) and former Internal Affairs Minister Yoshihide Suga (2nd district). The now ruling Democratic Party had lost all districts of Kanagawa in the 2005 "postal" election, but won 14 of the 18 seats in 2009, including the 16th district, a "conservative kingdom" until then, of ex-minister Yoshiyuki Kamei and his son Zentarō. In 2012, Liberal Democratic Party and Kōmeitō together won 15 seats in Kanagawa, two went to Your Party, the only Democrat to hold onto his seat was Hirofumi Ryū in the 9th district.

Under the postwar constitution, Kanagawa initially was represented by four Councillors electing two per election. As most two-member districts, it has often elected one Liberal Democrat and one Socialist. The longest serving Councillor from Kanagawa (1953–1983) was conservative Kenzō Kōno, House of Councillors president, brother of LDP faction leader Ichirō Kōno and uncle of representative Yōhei Kōno. In the 1990s, a reapportionment of Councillors gave Kanagawa one additional seat per election; another reapportionment effective in the 2013 and 2016 elections will bring the total to eight. The currently seven Councillors from Kanagawa are, as of August 2013, two members each of Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Party and Your Party and one Kōmeitō member.

Governor

Kanagawa's current governor is former news anchor Yūji Kuroiwa who was elected in the unified local elections in 2011 with support from Liberal Democrats, Democrats and Kōmeitō, i.e. as a de facto all-party candidate of the established non-Communist parties though the recently created Your Party and the network movement together supported the candidacy of Jun'ichi Tsuyuki who surpassed the Communist candidate and received more than a quarter of the vote.

Kuroiwa is the sixth elected governor since 1947. Past elected governors of Kanagawa were:

  1. Iwatarō Uchiyama, 5 terms, 1947–1967,
  2. Bungo Tsuda, 2 terms, 1967–1975,
  3. Kazuji Nagasu, 5 terms, 1975–1995,
  4. Hiroshi Okazawa, 2 terms, 1995–2003,
  5. Shigefumi Matsuzawa, 2 terms, 2003–2011.

Assembly

The Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly has currently 107 members. They are elected every four years in unified regional elections by single non-transferable vote (in single-member districts identical to first-past-the-post) in 47 electoral districts most of which correspond to the wards of designated cities, independent cities and counties of Kanagawa. In the most recent elections in April 2011, the Liberal Democratic Party remained strongest party with 40 seats, the Democratic Party won 29 and Yoshimi Watanabe's Your Party won 15 seats. Kōmeitō holds 10 assembly seats, the Japanese Communist Party is no longer represented since 2011. One seat held by members of the Kanagawa Network, part of the "network movement", the same national federation of consumer movements as the Tokyo Seikatsusha Network.

The current composition of the assembly is as follows (as of May 15, 2014): [1]

Composition of the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly
Parliamentary groupSeats
Liberal Democratic Party 42
Democratic Party – Kanagawa Club27
Kōmeitō 10
Your Party 10
Kenseikai ("Prefectural political assembly")6
Unity Party, Japan Restoration Party 6
Kanagawa Network 1
Shinsei Kanagawa Club1
Kenmin mesen no reimei1
Total including 3 vacant seats107

The current 106th assembly president is Tokie Furusawa (LDP, Naka county electoral district), the 107th vice president is Takahiro Aihara (Kenseikai, Asao ward). [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Komeito</span> Conservative political party in Japan

Komeito, formerly New Komeito and abbreviated NKP, is a conservative political party in Japan founded by lay members of the Buddhist Japanese new religious movement Soka Gakkai in 1964. Since 2012, it has served in government as the junior coalition partner of the Liberal Democratic Party. Natsuo Yamaguchi has been the president of the party since 8 September 2009 and currently serves as a member of the House of Councillors in the National Diet, the Japanese national legislature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 Japanese general election</span> General election in Japan held in 2003

General elections were held in Japan on November 9, 2003. Incumbent Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of the Liberal Democrat Party won the election but with a reduced majority. The main opposition Democratic Party made considerable gains, winning 177 of the 480 seats in the House of Representatives, its largest share ever. Other traditional parties like the Communist Party and the Social Democrat Party lost a significant numbers of seats, making a two-party system a possibility in later Japanese politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yōhei Kōno</span> Japanese politician

Yōhei Kōno is a Japanese politician and a former President of the Liberal Democratic Party. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from November 2003 until August 2009, when the LDP lost its majority in the 2009 election. Kōno served as speaker for the longest length since the set up of House of Representatives in 1890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Japan</span> Political elections for public offices in Japan

The Japanese political process has three types of elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 Japanese general election</span>

General elections were held in Japan on 11 September 2005 for all 480 seats of the House of Representatives of Japan, the lower house of the Diet of Japan, almost two years before the end of the term taken from the last election in 2003. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called the election after bills to privatize Japan Post were voted down in the upper house, despite strong opposition within his own Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) (LDP).

This article presents detail of the results in the 2005 Japan general election, breaking down results by block district. The 11 block districts elected 180 members by proportional representation, and 300 members were elected from single-member districts distributed among the 47 prefectures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tokyo Metropolitan Government</span> Prefectural government of Tokyo, Japan

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is the government of the Tokyo Metropolis. One of the 56 prefectures of Japan, the government consists of a popularly elected governor and assembly. The headquarters building is located in the ward of Shinjuku. The metropolitan government administers the special wards, cities, towns and villages that constitute part of the Tokyo Metropolis. With a population closing in on 14 million living within its boundaries, and many more commuting from neighbouring prefectures, the metropolitan government wields significant political power within Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Japanese House of Councillors election</span>

House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on July 29, 2007. The date was originally to be July 22, but the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) decided in mid-June to extend the session of the House for a week to finish up legislative business; this step was criticised due to the short-term delay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 Japanese House of Councillors election</span>

House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on 29 July 2001. They were the first national elections since Junichiro Koizumi became Prime Minister after Yoshiro Mori resigned in April 2001. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its election allies, were the major winner, provided Koizumi a strong mandates to move forward with his reform policies. The ruling coalition performed well, and regain their majority in the House of Councillors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Factions in the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)</span>

Factions are an accepted part of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the ruling party of Japan, which began with eight formal factions when it was first formed by merger in 1955. A political faction may be defined as a sub-group within a larger organization. While factions characterize other political parties in Pacific Asia, Japanese factionalism is distinguished by its stability and institutionalization. Although factions reconstitute themselves from time to time, the habatsu active today can be traced back to their 1955 roots, a testament to the stability and institutionalized nature of Liberal Democratic Party factions.

The 17th unified local elections in Japan took place in April 2011. In the first phase on April 10, 2011 12 governors, 41 prefectural assemblies as well as five mayors and 15 assemblies in cities designated by government ordinance were elected. In the second phase on April 24, 2011 mayors and/or assemblies in hundreds of cities, cities of Tokyo, towns and villages were up for election. Additionally, a by-election for the National Diet was held in Aichi on April 24.

The 16th unified local elections in Japan took place in April 2007. In the first phase on April 8, 2007 13 governors, 44 prefectural assemblies as well as four mayors and 15 assemblies in cities designated by government ordinance were elected. In the second phase on April 22, 2007 mayors and/or assemblies in hundreds of cities, special wards, towns and villages were up for election. Additionally, by-elections for the national Diet were held in Fukushima and Okinawa on April 22.

Events in the year 2012 in Japan.

Politics of Nagasaki, as in all prefectures of Japan, takes place in the framework of local autonomy that is guaranteed by the Constitution and laid out in the Local Autonomy Law. The administration is headed by a governor directly elected by the people every four years in first-past-the-post elections. Legislation, the budget and the approval of personnel appointments, including the vice governor, are handled by the prefectural assembly that is directly elected by the people every four years by single-non transferable vote.

Politics of Osaka, as in all 47 prefectures of Japan, takes place in the framework of local autonomy that is guaranteed by chapter 8 of the Constitution and laid out in the Local Autonomy Law. The administration is headed by a governor directly elected by the people every four years in first-past-the-post elections. Legislation, the budget and the approval of personnel appointments, including the vice governors, are handled by the prefectural assembly that is directly elected by the people every four years by single-non transferable vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aichi Prefectural Assembly</span>

The Aichi Prefectural Assembly is the legislative assembly of Aichi Prefecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Japanese House of Councillors election</span>

House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on Sunday 10 July 2016 to elect 121 of the 242 members of the House of Councillors, the upper house of the National Diet, for a term of six years. As a result of the election, the Liberal Democratic Party–Komeito coalition gained ten seats for a total of 145, the largest coalition achieved since the size of the house was set at 242 seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenji Nakanishi</span> Japanese politician

Kenji Nakanishi is a Japanese politician and member of the House of Councillors from Kanagawa. A former executive of JP Morgan Securities Japan, he was elected to the House of Councillors in 2010 as a member of Your Party for the Kanagawa at-large district, and he later joined the Liberal Democratic Party House of Councillors parliamentary group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Japanese House of Councillors election</span>

House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on 21 July 2019 to elect 124 of the 245 members of the House of Councillors, the upper house of the then 710-member bicameral National Diet, for a term of six years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election</span> Political party leadership elections in Japan

The 2021 Liberal Democratic Party leadership election was held on 29 September 2021 to elect the next President of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. The winner of the election, Fumio Kishida, became the Prime Minister of Japan, and led the party into the 2021 Japanese general election.

References

  1. Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly: Members by parliamentary group
  2. Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly: Introduction of President and Vice President
  3. Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly: List of presidents and vice presidents since 1879