Opposition leader Edano to quit post after poor election results

Major supporter Rengo, Japan's largest labor organization, had strongly opposed cooperating with the JCP and said in a statement following the election that the CDPJ had "significant issues to resolve."

The significant issues are with Rengo, an enemy of labor and a tool of Keidanren. Along with LDP gerrymandering, another way the status quo abides in Japan.

"My inadequacy is the reason this happened," he said at a party meeting. "I apologize from the bottom of my heart to all of the party executives, to all of four supporters across the country, and most of all to our colleagues who unfortunately were not elected."

Needed more supporters rather than four.

It was an interesting election. The LDP lost only 14 seats and CDP lost 13 seats. Nippon ishin no kai now has more seats than Komeito. Yamaguchi is deep trouble. Komeito is now stuck between the LDP and Nippon Ishin no Kai, Komeito better change their tune or they are out the government.

He never had any good policies anyways.

They should have milked the government inactions during the pandemic. Except they focused on issues like income and wealth gaps and climate change. Also not a good move to join hands with communist. I am anti right wing, but we should move to the center and not socialist and far left.

A number of high-profile CDPJ candidates lost in their single-member districts, including heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa in Iwate Prefecture

Literally and figuratively a true "heavyweight!"

THIS is what I hate about the current election system here, while Ozawa may have lost he STILL is returning to the Diet through the proportional representation system.

It should be, if you lose, you are out, but not here!

marcelito 05:59 pm JST

Lets be honest here ... Edano just doesnt have enough charisma

Exactly! Edano doesn’t instill trust. The opposition needs a much more charismatic presence.

A mask? Holding a microphone? Who's within six feet? The cameraman?

I think that this election showed a new direction for Japan - move away from Left and Right.

It was an election that showed both Right (LDP) and Left (CDPJ, CP) losing seats. It was an election that showed the parties in the middle, or moderate conservative (ISHIN, DPP), won more seats. Many Japanese people do not believe leftist parties at all but also at the same time are sick of LDP old guards. When Yuriko Koike, the Governor of Tokyo, forms a new, moderate conservative party of her own after her second term completes to join the movement, they will become a force that will finally seriously challenge LDP.

Not to worry. He can just form a new party or change the name of the current one.

"My inadequacy is the reason this happened,"

That remains to be seen.

Maybe people just don’t like what the CDPJ stands for.

To me they come across as being infatuated with the notion of becoming an alternative, instead of actually being an alternative. Then they worried about the election strategy too much, and that made a target of themselves due the election campaigning.

But maybe people just don’t like the alternative that they have been offering.

What is the difference with them and the LDP? A competition to spend more money that the government doesn’t have in tax revenues to spend = more public debt. What did I miss?

Lets be honest here..Japanese electorate is not about policies....Edano just doesnt have enough charisma

Yes and no I think… the Japan Innovation Party almost quadrupled their seats and their big shots in Osaka weren’t even running for national election themselves. I believe that they got 10% of the votes because people found their reform policies attractive, as opposed to the status quo alternatives. To me at least CDPJ seems just the DPJ with a C stuck in front.

But yeah, Edano is definitely a bit dull, and to be frank, opens his mouth a bit funny when he talks (but Abe was a bit funny like that too).

Versus dull Kishida and his bland vague talk, Edano didn’t really stand out, and it should have been easy to.

..if he looked like Koizumi junior or a TV drama actor he would have doubled Democrats seats.

I don’t know about double, but yeah it could be good for a 10% swing if they had someone really likable as leader.

But to win, I think a compelling policy manifesto is a must. There will likely always be hard core LDP lovers and Komeito lovers whose votes are unwinable. The rest of the wavering voters surely need something impressive and optimistic to vote for the alternative. A pretty face like Yamamoto Taro only gets one so far.

I like the idea of leaders resigning rather that rotten in office.

fxgaiToday  10:02 pm JST

But yeah, Edano is definitely a bit dull, and to be frank, opens his mouth a bit funny when he talks (but Abe was a bit funny like that too).

I think he did pretty well to get the CDPJ to the point where they were the second largest party, but otherwise I agree.

But to win, I think a compelling policy manifesto is a must.

Agreed, and they shouldn't just unveil it a few weeks before an election either. They've got to hammer it out now and present their ideas in the Diet, even if they get voted down by the LDP-Komeito majority.

I called this weeks ago. No charisma, no believable policies. When will an opposition party realise they need someone under 48 for the long term to build a power base. This guy was just another Bernie Sanders or Jeremy Corbyn. They need a Bill Clinton or Tony Blair. PLUS a United Party.

No wonder the LDP remain where they are.

Also, I note the lack of comments who REALLY wanted to see Edano in power. Nothing.

Sad news, he was the best from the opposition.

Oh well, at least Kishida won.

You do have to do much to govern a compliant citizenry, when they are satisfied, with your fail policies

Simon

Agreed, and they shouldn't just unveil it a few weeks before an election either.

Yes, that’s the LDP strategy, but unbelievably they are let to get away with it every time. And Kishida’s policies are still vague and abstract…

This time at least CDPJ and the communists etc and other opposition parties, knowing that the election deadline was looming perhaps, did seem to have some policy ideas before the election was announced. That didn’t always seem to be the case until now, so well done to them for that.

WOW! So in Japan when you lose the election you actually quit. You don't say the election was stolen or call for riots and insurrection or try to change who is eligible to vote in elections. You just walk away. How unlike things here in the U.S.

theResidentNov. 2  11:34 pm JST

Also, I note the lack of comments who REALLY wanted to see Edano in power. Nothing.

I seriously doubt if anyone expected Edano to be in power.

They need a Bill Clinton or Tony Blair. PLUS a United Party.

Yeah, but I think the lefty parties here go about it the wrong way. They try to remain separate but then cooperate at the election time.

They way to grow a United party is to have a set of policies and then grow the vote for the party at election time being better than the rest, in more voters eyes.

This worked for Japan Innovation Party this time.

How about a lefty Nippon Rodo (Labour) Party :)

Who the hell cares about "charisma" ? I mean really, you'd rather have someone who is flashy and charismatic, and maybe a billionaire, than someone with substance and brains?

Oh wait, no need to answer that.

September, Japanese mainstream media spent huge hours for ruling party LDP leader election, first half of October, they spent featuring new PM.

During election campaign, ruling parties and rightwing populists' party Ishin who increased seats had weaponized disinformation to discredit opposition parties including CDP.

Rengo who hates communist had efforted to hinder opposition parties' united.

This election was very disadvantageous to opposition parties.

CDPJ could be split up again soon

fxgaiToday  06:17 am JST

How about a lefty Nippon Rodo (Labour) Party :)

There used to be one. The Japan Socialist Party. It disintegrated in the 1990s and all that's left of it is the Social Democratic Party.

The Left parties actually have the numbers to beat the LDP on its own, but not without abandoning their separate party status and actually banding together into a single party, thanks to proportional representation.

The CDP, CPJ, DPFP, Reiwa and the Social Dems together received 21,485,654 compared to the LDP's 19,914,883 votes, but the former grouping being 5 separate parties split the proportional votes in ways that guarantee the LDP as a single party remains the PR Kings (LDP at 72 PR seats versus all the Left's 56). Throw the LDP and Komeito together and they have more than 27 million votes and 95 PR seats to the Left's 56!

Another problem for the Left: the vote-rich Greater Osaka Area just swung to the right in the form of Ishin No Kai's sweeping of that area. Without Osaka, and without banding together as One Party, the Left will be a weak opposition for the foreseeable future.