On March 9, 2021, the first series of videos showcasing the candidates for the Chiba gubernatorial election was broadcast via NHK. Suffice to say, some of the candidates were quite the characters.
Kawai Yusuke
The first candidate, under the “Make the Entirety of Chiba Prefecture a Country of Dreams and Magic Party”, set the bar high by dressing up like Joaquin Phoenix’s character from the movie Joker. In his six-minute presentation, he explained his proposal to turn the whole of Chiba Prefecture into Disneyland and Disney Sea, and Narita Airport into “Disney Sky”.
Kawai also added that he wishes to ban the word “garbage” from the dictionary, and instead elect to use the alternative “star fragments” (星のかけら) instead, among other changes in phrasing. His focus seemed to be on “changing Chiba into a fun, cool place that people want to live in”, and noted that by bringing in more residents, tax revenues would also increase, bolstering the economy.
Kato Kenichiro
This one was comparatively less interesting. Kato Kenichiro, a former doctor, expressed his wishes to solve the declining birth rate of Japan. He would do so by instating a system where, once someone turns 20 years old, they would be able to apply for sperm or egg cryopreservation. He also proposed to create a new “Young People’s Day”, and would select 2 promising “young people” to be his vice-governors, and spend 2 years abroad to study other cities.
Then, he threw a curveball: His personal dream, Kato said, is to become the “Biden of Chiba”, win the election, and propose to Tokyo governor Koike Yuriko. He stated that “Koike would not want to marry a man who lost an election.”
Goto Teruki
The return of Goto Teruki was something of a wholesome one, though less so if you consider the fact that he seems to be a fervent Japanese nationalist, according to his official webpage. Some might remember Goto from his last election attempt, where he appeared naked on election posters with nationalist imagery. He also elected to write his name in the Japanese Imperial year, rather than the standard Japanese Era system.
This time, Goto did not shout banned obscenities on a live broadcast. Under the banner of the “Basic Income Party”, he instead listed all of his favorite qualities of his girlfriend, “Chinatsu.” He ended the presentation by proposing to his girlfriend, becoming the second candidate in the election to propose to someone on air.
Why are there so many “Joke Candidates?”
As of writing this article, there are a total of 8 candidates running in the Chiba gubernatorial election, including the former mayor of Chiba city. Only 2 of the candidates are backed by major Japanese political parties, with many running as independents.
Other notable candidates included prominent anti-vax and coronavirus conspiracist Hiratsuka Masayuki. Hiratsuka is the head of the “Popular Sovereignty Party”, and the organizer behind the infamous “Corona is only a Cold” (コロナはただの風邪) cluster festival last year. He was also a candidate of the Protect the People from NHK Party, which made similar waves back in 2019.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your sense of humor), to become a candidate you only need to be 30 years old and have ¥3,000,000 (about $30,000); a far cry from the multi-million dollar election campaigns seen in the US. The campaign funds will even be returned after the election, so long as candidates get at least 1/10th of the total vote.
This means that for those that have the savings, running for candidacy is a fairly attainable goal. Better yet, if your entire livelihood revolves around clicks and views, the election broadcasts can even be seen as easy publicity. That’s why we’re seeing people like Kawai (a YouTuber) and Goto (another recurring internet personality) enter the stage.
Freedom of Expression: Is it worth it?
Some are already beginning to question the double-edged sword that is freedom of expression. On the one hand, you have joke candidates taking up broadcasting time. Worst case, you risk electing blatant racists that push harmful rhetoric and conspiracies into office.
But on the other hand, you can also get people like Kanamitsu Rie, an independent backed by the JCP who was a former cram school teacher for over 30 years. Kanamitsu is one of the few progressive candidates to run on a platform of gender equality and strong welfare policies. She even did her own introduction in sign language.
If the barrier of entry was any higher, Kanamitsu could have very well been unable to become a candidate. What’s left would be a political system whereby candidates with donors and party backing would be the only ones able to run.
So if political freedom means having to deal with a few oddballs, then maybe — just maybe — it might be all worth it.
