Japan Institute for National Fundamentals

　　　　　　"Throw away such empty idealism and get back to the realities." "Make a breakthrough for Japan's revitalization based on reasonableness and rationalism." These may be the messages sent to the camp of former Prime Ministers Morihiro Hosokawa and Junichiro Koizumi who suffered a crushing defeat in the February 8 Tokyo gubernatorial election after calling for an immediate exit from nuclear power generation.
　　　　　　Amidst the Tokyo gubernatorial campaign, our Japan Institute for National Fundamentals published an opinion advertisement asking, “Do you choose a Tokyo governor by focusing only on the nuclear power issue?” And it argued that opposition to nuclear power generation should not be any sole issue in the campaign. The opinion conforms to our belief that Japan's desirable strategy after the Great East Japan Earthquake should find its future not in getting out of nuclear power but in improving nuclear power generation safety and utilizing nuclear energy. Through a series of problem presentations, JINF might have helped bring about the election results.

Defeat of empty idealism
　　　　　　Let's check vote numbers in the Tokyo gubernatorial election. Hosokawa garnered only 960,000 votes, becoming the second runner-up. The number is 1.15 million less than 2.11 million for Yoichi Masuzoe, the winner in the election. A combination of votes for Hosokawa and another major anti-nuclear candidate and the first runner-up, Kenji Utsunomiya, fell 780,000 votes short of combined votes for Masuzoe and Toshio Tamogami, who supported nuclear power generation and became the fourth largest vote gainer. Even without support from any political party, Tamogami collected 610,000 votes, only 350,000 less than for Hosokawa.
　　　　　　People who had staged anti-nuclear demonstrations before the Prime Minister's Office every Friday evening disappeared during the campaign period. They might have focused on supporting Hosokawa or Utsunomiya. The anti-nuclear camp, including famed people backing Hosokawa, was clearly defeated. Those who pursued only idealism suffered a defeat.
　　　　　　The job of Tokyo governor covers a wide range of issues including disaster prevention, energy, childcare, education, welfare, small businesses and the Olympics. As head of the Japanese capital, the governor also has to be well versed in the international situation surrounding Japan.

Rengo's raison d'etre called into question
　　　　　　It was significant that labor unions rejected empty opinions of Hosokawa who ignored most of other important issues. Rengo Tokyo, a local chapter of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation known as Rengo supporting the Democratic Party of Japan, failed to back Hosokawa. Unlike DPJ. Rengo Tokyo did not leave members to vote for any candidate, but supported Masuzoe, demonsrating a fundamental question to the national confederation. The question is if it is reasonable for government and private sector workers to be united into Rengo.
　　　　　　The defunct General Council of Trade Unions of Japan, the Japan Teachers' Union and other unions of government sector workers have had differed with the defunct Japan Federation of Textile Workers' Unions, the All Japan Telecommunications Workers' Union and other private sector trade unions over various matters. Like the DPJ, Rengo covers characteristically different groups. As a result, the confederation cannot take any unified political actions. Its future outlook is dark. Rengo's division over the nuclear issue in the Tokyo gubernatorial election campaigns indicates that it has already ended its historical mission.
　　　　　　The Tokyo gubernatorial election has ended up issuing the message calling for departing from idealism. It has also sent out a message urging Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to restart nuclear power plants after reaffirming their safety and prepare a long-term strategy for utilizing nuclear power generation.
　
Yoshiko Sakurai is President, Japan Institute for National Fundamentals.