Japan’s SDP Kicks Off 1st Leadership Race in 13 Years

Tokyo, March 4 (Jiji Press)–The campaign period for the March 21-22 election of Japan’s Social Democratic Party kicked off Wednesday, with three members filing their candidacies. It is the first time in 13 years for multiple candidates to run for the SDP presidency. The three are Yuko Otsubaki, 52, a former House of Councillors member, SDP deputy leader LaSalle Ishii, 70, and incumbent SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima, 70. The SDP has been struggling with a declining presence and has aimed in recent years to maintain its status as a political party in parliamentary elections. “I will create a party in which mainly young generations can take the initiative,” Otsubaki said at a joint press conference. “I will turn the SDP into a bright and proactive party so that it can bloom again,” Ishii said. Fukushima said, “I will lead the party from the front, aiming to preserve it and to make it bigger.” The race will be decided by the votes of some 5,200 party members. The winner will need a majority of valid votes. After ballots are counted on March 23, the new leader will be formally appointed at a party conference scheduled to be held over two days from April 27. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]