Monday, July 31, 2017, 15:00 - 16:00
"Japan's Unconstitutional Election Deposits"
Language: The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation
Running for political office in Japan is costly. Candidates in last month's Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election deposited 600,000 yen each with the authorities, which are forfeited if they win less than 10% of the vote. In general elections the deposit swells to 3 million yen per person for a constituency seat in the upper house and 6 m yen per person in proportional representational districts – by far the world's highest financial bar.
Most developed countries have lowered their deposits or scrapped them altogether. Critics say setting the cost of entry in Japan so high favors the big political parties, unions and industry lobbies and helps ensure that smaller parties and new entrants are shut out of power. Kenji Utsunomiya, a former president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations who was also twice a candidate for Tokyo governor says the system is unfair and unconstitutional.
Utsunomiya and his colleagues represent a plaintiff who says the high deposit effectively prevented him from registering his candidacy for a lower house seat in December 2014. A lawsuit, filed with the Tokyo District Court in May last year, demands compensation of 3 million yen. Ultimately, the legal team wants to challenge the constitutionality of the deposit rules, which they say infringe on the right of ordinary people to run for public office.
Kenji Utsunomiya is chief attorney in the lawsuit. He was president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations from 2010 – 2012 and a candidate for the Tokyo gubernatorial election in 2012 and 2014. Yuzuru Kamoda is the general secretary of the legal team and a member of the Saitama Bar Association.
Please reserve in advance, 3211-3161 or on the website (still & TV cameras inclusive). Reservations and cancellations are not complete without confirmation.
Professional Activities Committee
Kenji Utsunomiya Yuzuru Kamoda