“There are a lot of people with different ideas in Tokyo.”
This is what I thought when I casually read the candidates’ claims written in the election bulletin for the Tokyo gubernatorial election that was distributed to my home.
There are candidates who promote polygamy, such as “enriching your life through poker” and “enriching the world through nuclear fusion,” while others claim to enrich Tokyo residents by favoring the wealthy. There are also candidates who appeal to the public by canceling debts and mortgages through amnesty. There are also candidates who are running without any particular policies, saying, “Watch my cute campaign broadcast.”
More than 50 candidates are running for the upcoming Tokyo gubernatorial election, and it’s like a carnival. To me, there are many claims that seem like jokes, but perhaps the candidates themselves are completely serious. Having a variety of opinions and claims is a good thing in terms of diversity, but if diversity exceeds a limit, it becomes chaos. The upcoming Tokyo gubernatorial election seems to have inadvertently demonstrated that there is a fine line between diversity and chaos.
If this were to increase voter turnout, it could be said to have been effective, even in an election with a motley crew of strong contenders, but I predict that voter turnout will be the lowest on record.
For most of the candidates, elections are probably just a way to make themselves known. Perhaps they are hoping to gain some kind of prize-like benefit by making their name known. For example, earning views as a YouTuber, or working hard as a talent.
Even I, who always votes, feel foolish and reluctant to go to the polls when I think that I may be helping someone else make themselves known. If an election in Tokyo, the capital of one of the world’s leading metropolitan areas, is treated like this for fun, I even feel a little uneasy about Japan’s future. Generally, in elections with a large number of candidates, incumbents tend to have the advantage. Judging from the current election campaign, things are moving exactly that way.
(Kitajima Kei)

※Translating Japanese articles into English with AI