Labornet TV Broadcast: A Look Back at Japan’s 2017 Election

 

The drama of this year’s snap election of the Lower House—which seemed to exemplify the saying, “in politics, no one knows what the future holds”—has ended. The day after the results came in, newspapers were plastered with headlines reading “Ruling Bloc Secures Over 300 Seats, Prime Minister Remains in Office.” At the same time, however, the rise of the newly formed Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) was widely reported in the media. After securing her seat, TSUJIMOTO Kiyomi surmised about CDP’s success in an interview with NHK: “Our message that politics exists to prevent war has resonated with a wide range of constituents who have led us to victory.” To vote for Kibo no To (Party of Hope) meant greenlighting security reforms—“war laws”—and therefore pushing Japan towards a country that could wage war. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) took advantage of the tensions with North Korea to garner support while pushing the Kake Gakuen and Moritomo Gakuen scandals under the rug. Perhaps the major point of contention that underlay this year’s election was whether Japan will become a country that could wage war, or hold onto its pacifism by protecting Article 9 of the constitution. On October 25^th, Labornet TV hosted a live discussion program through the night on what the election results entail and where to go from here. (TV project)

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レイバーネットTV放送 : 総選挙を総括！みんなでディスカッション

「政治は一寸先は闇」という言葉を地でいった「2017総選挙」のドラマが終わった。開票翌日の新聞には「自公300議席超へ 首相続投」の大見出しが躍る。しかし同時に「立憲民主 躍進」が大きく報じられた。当選確実にした辻元清美氏はNHKのインタビューに「政治は戦争をさせないためにあると訴え、多くの皆さんの輪が広がり、そして当選をさせていただいた」と勝因を分析した。希望の党の踏み絵はまさに「安保法制＝戦争法の容認」で「戦争できる国」をめざすものだった。自民党はモリカケを隠し北朝鮮問題を使って支持を伸ばした。今回の総選挙の底流に流れていた大争点は、じつは日本を「戦争できる国」にするのか、9条を守って「戦争しない国」を堅持するのかの、せめぎ合いだったのではないか。25日のレイバーネットTVは「夜生ディスカッション」形式で、あなたは総選挙をどうみるか、これからどうしていったらいいのか。大いにディスカッションしました。（TVプロジェクト） 

アーカイブ録画（74分・特集は29分から）　

8,000 Supporters Rally for the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) at Shinjuku Station

 

On October 21^st, the final day of this year’s lower house election, 8,000 people packed the south exit of Shinjuku station for a campaign rally hosted by the newly formed Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP). Within a month after Prime Minister SHINZO Abe called for a snap election, Kibo no To (Party of Hope) was founded and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) split. Opposition parties in favor of protecting the constitution were inevitably faced with confusion—however, EDANO Yukio decided to create the CDP shortly thereafter. As a result, DPJ members, who once leaned towards joining the Party of Hope, banded together with the CDP, making possible a nationwide campaign that unifies the opposition and its supporters under one candidate in each district. “As someone who opposes the security reforms and has called on the people to fight against them, there’s no way I could have joined the Party of Hope,” said FUKUYAMA Tetsuro, a member of the upper house who became secretary-general of the CDP. “The reason I am here is because of all the people who have backed me up,” EDANO Yukio, head of CDP, said firmly. “Let’s make tomorrow our starting point and fight together.” The much anticipated election day is October 22nd.（YUMOTO Masanori）

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立憲民主党「東京大作戦ファイナル」に8000人～新宿南口を埋め尽くす

１０月２１日、衆議院選挙最終日、新宿駅南口で「東京大作戦ファイナル」が開催され、８０００人が集まり新宿駅南口は聴衆で埋め尽くされた。衆議院解散からまだ１か月たっていない。その間、希望の党の結党で民進党は分裂。立憲野党側は混乱を余儀なくされた。しかし、その後枝野幸男さんが「立憲民主党」の結党を決意。その結果、一度は希望の党に流れた民進党員が立憲民主党に合流し、市民と野党の統一候補を擁立できる選挙が、全国的に展開できることとなった。同党幹事長となった参議院議員福山哲郎さんは、「安保法制に反対し、これから安保法廃止に向け一緒に闘いましょうと言った私が、希望の党に行けるわけがありません」と発言。枝野幸男代表は、「ここまでやってこれたのは、私の背中をおしてくれた皆さんのおかげ、明日を出発点にし一緒に闘いましょう」と力強く発言した。いよいよ22日、投票日を迎える。（湯本雅典）  

動画（4分）