Wikipedia

Tomin First no Kai

Tomin First no Kai (Japanese: 都民ファーストの会, Hepburn: Tomin Fāsuto no Kai, Tokyoites First Party) is a regional political party in Tokyo, Japan.

Tomin First no Kai
都民ファーストの会
PresidentChiharu Araki
FounderYuriko Koike
Founded23 January 2017 (2017-01-23)
HeadquartersToshima, Tokyo
Ideology"Tokyo’s Great Reform"
(self-proclaimed)[1]
Localism[1]
Conservatism[2]
Japanese nationalism[3]
Right-wing populism[4]
Political positionCentre-right[5] to right-wing[6][3]
National affiliationFirst no Kai (2021–)
Kibō no Tō (2017–2018)
ColoursGreen
Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly
28 / 127
Party flag
Website
tomin1st.jp

The party was founded by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike in 2017. Koike later stepped down as the party's leader and is no longer officially affiliated with the party, however her policies and image continue to form the backbone of the party's platform and she continues to endorse and campaign for its candidates.[7]

The party won the most seats in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly in 2017 in what was widely described as a wave election, the party later lost control of the Assembly in the 2021 election, becoming the second-largest party in the chamber.

History

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The group was founded by Yuriko Koike, governor of Tokyo since 2016. While still a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Koike began laying the groundwork for a new political party in late 2016, when she established the Kibo no Juku ("Academy of Hope") program to train potential political candidates. The program had thousands of applicants.[8]

On 31 May 2017, in advance of the upcoming local elections, she resigned from the LDP, officially becoming the new party's leader and forming an alliance with Komeito in an effort to secure a governing majority in Tokyo's parliament.[9] On 3 July 2017, the alliance took a majority in the prefectural election, pushing out the Liberal Democratic Party with a combined 79 seats of the 127-seat assembly.[10] All but one of Tomin First's candidates were victorious; senior LDP lawmaker Shigeru Ishiba called the election a "historic defeat" for the LDP.[11]

Koike stepped down as party head shortly after the election and was replaced by Kazusa Noda; Noda himself resigned in September 2017 and was replaced by Chiharu Araki. Two key party members, Shun Otokita and Reiko Ueda, stepped down in October, citing the closed nature of the party's leadership and its restrictions on their activities in the metropolitan assembly.[12]

Koike formed a sister national party, Kibō no Tō, in preparation for the 2017 general election. The party won 50 seats and 17.36% of the vote in the election, becoming the second largest opposition party in the House of Representatives, a result which was nevertheless described as an underperformance for the party given opinion polling and expectations.[13] The party was later effectively disbanded in May 2018 after it merged with the Democratic Party to form the Democratic Party for the People.

In the 2021 Tokyo prefectural election, Tomin First lost a total of 15 seats, losing its status as the largest party in the Assembly to the LDP. Despite the loss of seats, the result was described by analysts as an unexpectedly strong showing from the party, as opinion polls and projections prior to the election had forecast the party losing far more seats.[7]

On October 4, 2021, less than a month before the 2021 Japanese general election, the party announced it had formed a national party called First no Kai. Party leaders justified their decision to create the party by noting that the party, which is currently the second largest party in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, lacks any national representation with the dissolving of Kibō.[14] The party was described by its leader, Chiharu Araki, as being a centrist conservative party. The party plans to field candidates mainly in the Tokyo metropolitan area, but they said that Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike has not been asked to run for a seat.[15][16]

Platform

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The party platform for the 2017 Tokyo election advocated open government, proper use of public funds, and stricter penalties for public smoking.[17] However, the party indicated relatively vague policy objectives in advance of the election, and many voted for the party simply in order to prevent the LDP from taking control of the legislature in the wake of its recent scandals.[18]

Presidents

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No. Name Term of office National affiliation
Took office Left office
1 Kazusa Noda 23 January 2017 1 June 2017
2 Yuriko Koike 1 June 2017 3 July 2017
3 Kazusa Noda 3 July 2017 10 September 2017
4 Chiharu Araki 10 September 2017 Incumbent

Election results

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Gubernatorial Elections

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Election Candidate Votes % Result
2020 Supported Yuriko Koike[a] 3,661,371 59.7% Won
2024 Supported Yuriko Koike[a] 2,918,015 42.8% Won
  1. ^ a b Koike ran as an independent but her party supported her.

Metropolitan Assembly Elections

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Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– Rank
2017 Yuriko Koike 1,884,029 33.68%
49 / 127
   49   1st
2021 Chiharu Araki 1,034,778 22.28%
31 / 127
   15   2st

References

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  1. ^ a b 綱領 (in Japanese). Tomin First no Kai. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  2. ^ Kawashima, Shin (28 July 2017). "The Enigma of Japanese Politics". The Diplomat. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  3. ^ a b Yuen, Stacey (21 February 2020). "The Pride And (Anti-Korean) Prejudice Of Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike Is A Big Problem". Forbes. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  4. ^ Jeff Kingston (26 August 2017). "Koike tests possibilities and perils of populism in Japan". The Japan Times. 東京. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  5. ^ Gregory W. Noble (13 July 2019). "Abe sails toward another electoral victory". East Asia Forum. Retrieved 15 September 2019. ... The Japanese Communist Party, two small centre-right regional groupings — Tokyoites First Party and Osaka-based Japan Innovation Party (Ishin) ...
  6. ^ Yuen, Stacey (21 February 2020). "Doubt cast over Tomin First's national appeal". The Japan Times. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  7. ^ a b Sugiyama, Satoshi (5 July 2021). "Underwhelming Tokyo result offers LDP a warning for general election". The Japan Times. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Tokyo Gov. Koike's political school gearing up, raising possibility of new party". Mainichi Daily News. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike quits LDP to lead own party to polls". The Straits Times. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  10. ^ "Koike camp gets majority". The Japan News. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  11. ^ "A local election in Tokyo may have just changed Japanese politics". Los Angeles Times. 2 July 2017. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  12. ^ Yoshida, Reiji (4 October 2017). "Two Tomin First members quit over Yuriko Koike's leadership style". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  13. ^ "立憲民主党、野党第1党が確実（衆院選2017)". Huffington Post. 22 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Tomin First's national party aiming to gain influence". The Japan Times. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Tomin First announces launch of national political party ahead of Lower House election". The Japan Times. 3 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Tokyoites First forms national political party to field candidates in lower house election". Mainichi Daily News. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  17. ^ "Japan's Most Popular Politician Defects From Ruling Party". Bloomberg.com. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  18. ^ Aoki, Mizuho; Kikuchi, Daisuke; Kobayashi, Kakumi (2 July 2017). "Despite vague platform, Tomin First outshining status quo in Tokyo". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
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