The following is from a serial column by Mr. Ryusho Kadota in the front matter of today's issue of the monthly magazine, Hanada.
The final chapter is a must-read not only for the people of Japan but also for people around the world.
Behind the Scenes of the Defeat of the Liberal Democratic Party in the Nara Prefectural Gubernatorial Election
"We are truly sorry to Ms. Takaichi."
The LDP's Nara Prefectural Federation leaders are all talking about what happened on February 21 this year to Sanae Takaichi, the president of the LDP's Nara Prefectural Federation.
On that day, about 20 people from the LDP Nara Prefectural Federation, including the LDP Prefectural Federation secretary general, prefectural assembly chairpersons, mayors' association chairpersons, town and village assembly chairpersons, and town and village assembly chairpersons, came to Tokyo.
Ms. Takaichi met with them at LDP headquarters, along with Toshimitsu Motegi, secretary general of the LDP, and Toshihiro Nikai, former secretary general of the LDP.
At the time, Nara was amid an unusual situation concerning the endorsement of a candidate for governor.
The LDP headquarters had been "stonewalling" the candidate recommended by the prefectural federation.
The LDP's Nara Prefectural Federation had decided to nominate a 48-year-old former bureaucrat from Nara Prefecture, who graduated from the prestigious Todaiji Gakuen School and then went on to graduate from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo, as a candidate who could "win" against the Restoration Party, which is steadily gaining power.
The move was made in response to 78-year-old Shogo Arai, who had served four consecutive terms as governor of Nara Prefecture, informing those around him of his intention to retire the previous year.
However, the situation suddenly changed when Governor Arai announced his intention to run for governor on January 4, the first day of the new year.
"What's going on?"
"The party headquarters is working on it."
"He says he wants to run for a fifth term but will be 82 when the next period ends. Mr. Arai himself was the one who criticized former Governor Yoshiya Kakimoto, who was seeking a fifth election 16 years ago, for running for multiple elections and had his candidacy turned down."
Mr. Arai refused to meet with Ms. Takaichi.
According to an official of the Nara Prefectural Federation, "It all started with a poll conducted by the party headquarters last October. The prefectural residents strongly criticized Mr. Arai for running too many elections. The poll showed that the difference between Mr. Arai and the Restoration Party was more than a double score, which meant that Mr. Arai was utterly outnumbered. In addition, there is a rule at the party headquarters that no endorsement will be given to a candidate who has won more than four elections, so that no approval will be given to Mr. Arai. Strangely enough, however, the party headquarters did not endorse Mr. Hiraki, who officially received the endorsement of the Nara Prefectural Federation on January 15."
It was the scene at the beginning of the interview when the eminent leaders of the Nara Prefectural Federation and Ms. Takaichi went to the LDP headquarters.
A source close to the matter continued.
"First of all, we made a 'petition' to Secretary-General Motegi, but his attitude was strange from beginning to end. Ms. Takaichi, the president of the Nara Prefectural Federation, said, 'Mr. Hiraki is a candidate the Nara Prefectural Federation has decided to nominate through due process. Please give me your recommendation as soon as possible.' Mr. Motegi said he would make every effort at the party headquarters to unify the two candidates. Mr. Motegi said, "Mr. Moriyama, the election campaign committee chairman, is working hard to unify the candidates. Anyway, please give me some time."
The group also petitioned former Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai.
Mr. Arai is a former director of the Japan Coast Guard and has a close relationship with Mr. Nikai, who served as Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism.
The common understanding of the Nara Prefectural Federation was that Mr. Nikai was "behind" Mr. Arai's candidacy.
A senior official of the Nara Prefectural Federation, who was present at the meeting, said, "Mr. Nikai did not say a single word, just listening to our petition. Mikio Hayashi, his close aide, spoke exclusively with us. But he didn't say anything about recommending Mr. Hiraki until the very end."
Yutaka Moriyama, a close ally of Mr. Nikai.
Mr. Moriyama is the crucial person Mr. Motegi says is "making it sweat."
However, Moriyama's move came as a shock to the prefectural federation.
"The day after the petition was submitted, Mr. Moriyama met with Mr. Arai in Nara City. He moved quickly! But the truth was the opposite. Mr. Moriyama encouraged Mr. Arai to run, saying, 'Please continue to fight fair and square.' Mr. Arai's determination was strengthened, and he told those around him, 'I will do my best to the end,' with a big smile."
The prefectural federation was furious at the party headquarters for giving "A Fisherman's Advantage" to Ishin.
Moriyama's comments were reported in the newspapers, and the ripples spread further.
The political desk of a major newspaper commented,
"It was a tremendous 'Takaichi crush.' Even in the case of the document issue, rather than protecting Takaichi, senior party officials advised Prime Minister Kishida to 'remove her from office as soon as possible. 'In fact, the prime minister's intention to withdraw the fabricated statement and apologize was conveyed to Takaichi through the deputy chief cabinet secretary. However, Ms. Takaichi was not intimidated and fought alone, defeating the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. Even so, the party's executive committee did not give up and even went so far as to have a candidate from the Restoration Party win the gubernatorial election due to the split in the Liberal Democratic Party, thereby creating the 'theory that Takaichi is responsible.'
Why do they do that? Everyone thinks that, but the key word is "China."
"The pro-China faction within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is unwilling to sit idly by while Ms. Takaichi pushes for the security clearance legislation. Some council members have scars on their shins, and others are naturalized Chinese citizens. If this is realized, his true identity will be exposed, and some council members will not be able to become ministers. Ms. Takaichi is also trying to put other economic security laws in place to prevent the outflow of technology to China. Now that Abe is gone, China thinks, 'If only Takaichi were not here, .......' It is why it is said that the order to destroy Takaichi may have come from that country."
People who work for Japan are crushed-It has become a terrible country.
