Heavyweight Centrist Candidates Lose Constituency Races

Tokyo, Feb. 9 (Jiji Press)–Heavyweight candidates from the opposition Centrist Reform Alliance lost their constituency races in Sunday’s election for Japan’s House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of parliament. Party co-secretary-general Jun Azumi failed to win back his seat in the Miyagi No. 4 constituency, while co-election chief Sumio Mabuchi lost in the Nara No. 1 constituency. Both could not take back seats under the proportional representation system. Ichiro Ozawa, former secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and former leader of the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan, was defeated in the Iwate No. 3 constituency. Former Lower House Vice Speaker Koichiro Genba, former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano and former welfare minister Akira Nagatsuma lost in the Fukushima No. 2, Saitama No. 5 and Tokyo No. 27 constituencies, respectively. Only Nagatsuma was chosen under the proportional representation system. Former Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, who did not stand for a proportional representation seat, will not return to parliament after losing in the Mie No. 3 constituency. Among major candidates from other opposition parties, Kazuhiro Haraguchi, co-leader of the Tax Cuts Japan & Patriotic Alliance, was defeated in the Saga No. 1 constituency. Of LDP candidates involved in a high-profile slush funds scandal, Tamayo Marukawa, Hakubun Shimomura, Koichi Hagiuda and Ryota Takeda won their respective constituencies. Taku Eto, another LDP candidate who resigned as agriculture minister over his gaffe about rice consumption in May, was unable to retake the Miyazaki No. 2 constituency, but was elected under the proportional representation system. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]