Ishihara turns out for LDP hopefuls

Even though he is not up for re-election, Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara is campaigning hard in the lead-up to Sunday's Tokyo metropolitan assembly election.

He is expected to speak on behalf of more than 20 candidates of the Liberal Democratic Party. The figure exceeds the number of candidates for whom he campaigned in the assembly election four years ago.

Ishihara, 76, is clearly anxious about the outcome as he will face a much more difficult time managing the Tokyo metropolitan government if the assembly coalition made up of the LDP and New Komeito loses its majority.

"Because there is no knowing how the results will turn out, I am very concerned," said the nationalistic Ishihara, who was elected governor for the first time in 1999.

The opposition Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) appears to have gained momentum in local elections, with Sunday's victory in the Shizuoka gubernatorial contest by a party-backed candidate just the latest example.

"If the LDP and New Komeito lose their majority, I do not know how I will handle assembly matters," Ishihara said Monday in a speech for an LDP newcomer candidate in Sumida Ward.

The plunging support ratings for the Cabinet led by Prime Minister Taro Aso is sending shudders through the ruling coalition, which now controls 70 of the 127 seats in the Tokyo assembly.

Maintaining that majority will be important not only for Ishihara but also for Aso.

If the ruling coalition loses its majority, calls will likely grow within the LDP for Aso's resignation as party president.

Ishihara was in Singapore for three days through Saturday on a business trip related to Tokyo's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

However, he resumed campaigning for assembly candidates Sunday. He gave five speeches that day and three more on Monday. Seven were planned for Tuesday.

Candidates were glad to have the governor campaign on their behalf.

An LDP incumbent said, "His support rating is high, and so his speeches are more effective than those of the prime minister."

A survey conducted over the weekend by The Asahi Shimbun found 52 percent of respondents supported Ishihara, while 34 percent did not.

In a national survey conducted at the same time, the Aso Cabinet's support rating stood at 20 percent.

An LDP assembly member gave another reason for having Ishihara campaign.

"If the governor appears, voters will realize the election is about the Tokyo metropolitan government and not about a change in the central government," the LDP incumbent said.

Still, Ishihara does have negative baggage, notably ShinGinko Tokyo, the financial institution set up at his urging and which is now being criticized as a massive waste of taxpayers' money.

In March 2008, ShinGinko Tokyo had accumulated deficits of 100 billion yen, and the Tokyo metropolitan government pumped in an additional 40 billion yen.

In the Asahi poll, which received valid phone responses from 999 randomly chosen voters, 71 percent said the bank should be dissolved, while only 16 percent said efforts should be made to rebuild it.(IHT/Asahi: July 8,2009)