Liaison or Independence

Breaking some expectation for a broad coalition, Liberal Democratic Party raised a man without original relationship to the region for coming gubernatorial election in Fukushima, where reconstruction from the great earthquake and severe accident in First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant is ongoing. Governor theoretically governs the region as a democratic representative. But, LDP expects him to be a liaison for national government. The incumbent governor is considering how to construct a framework for keeping the people united.

Takeshi Hachimura, a former chief of Fukushima Branch of the Bank of Japan, announced his intention to run for the governor on Sunday. Once indicating a possibility of supporting reelection of current governor, Yuhei Sato, LDP asked Hachimura to run. Hachimura, born in Tokyo and graduated a college in Tokyo, accepted the offer with his willingness to contribute to reconstruction efforts. After the disaster, he worked for managing reconstruction policy as senior officer in Cabinet Office or Reconstruction Agency. In terms of reconstruction, Hachimura worked as a bureaucrat, rather than as a banker man.

Main reason that LDP insisted on its own candidate was necessity for stronger grip on Fukushima government. Reconstruction effort is lagging behind with mutual discredit between national government and local people. After a gaffe of Minister of Environment, Nobuteru Ishihara, indicating buying approval for building the mid-term solution facility for radioactively contaminated debris, people in Fukushima showed rigid opposition against the offer from national government. Some guess that if Hachimura take over the governorship, it will be likely that the national government will build not only mid-term solution but final solution facility in Fukushima, which the government has been denying so far.

In addition, Tokyo government wants to have a grip on the research of people’s health, which is mainly conducted by Fukushima Prefectural Medical College. Although the research found thirty-three young people suffering from thyroid cancer, the national government strictly denied relationship of the disease with the nuclear accident. Once the medical authority admits the relationship, Tokyo Electric Power Company, and even the national government, will have to pay a great amount of compensation.

Next focusing point in the election will be whether Sato expresses his willingness to run. After Hachimura’s announcement, Sato campaign is reviewing its strategy for the election. If he runs, the election will be a referendum for a choice between local government dependent on Tokyo and independent based on public opinions.