PRESS CONFERENCE

Against The Olympics
Yukio Edano, Leader of Constitutional Democratic Party

11:00-12:00 Friday, June 11, 2021
Language: The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation.

With the Tokyo Olympics less than two months away, the government of Yoshihide Suga is fighting criticism that it has botched its handling of the Covid-19 outbreak. Many think the Games should again be postponed or cancelled. Among them is Yukio Edano, leader of Japan's main opposition party.  Last month he accused Suga of prematurely lifting a state of emergency in March, allowing the virus to bounce back. "The government keeps changing its stance over and over again, and the Japanese people are tired of it," he said.

Edano has struggled to find traction with voters since he was elected leader last year of the center-left Constitutional Party of Japan (CPJ), following the merger of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Democratic Party of the People. His stance on the Olympics is an obvious way to win popular support: opinion polls suggest that most ordinary Japanese are also fearful of hosting the world’s biggest sporting event during a pandemic.  

Edano is imprinted on the minds of many Japanese for his role in the 2011 Tohoku disaster. For weeks, the then chief cabinet secretary was one of Japan's most visible faces, appearing on TV daily in a rumbled boiler suit to reassure the public that his government had the Fukushima nuclear crisis under control. His Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) lost power the following year to a rejuvenated Liberal Democratic Party. The party shrank, split and dissolved into infighting. Now it is back for a second try. 

The opposition leader is keen to stake out clear policy differences between the CPJ and the LDP, on welfare spending, foreign policy, defense and other issues. With this in mind he will discuss his new publication, "Edano's Vision". https://books.bunshun.jp/ud/book/num/9784166613144

How to attend: 
Please register at front@fccj.or.jp with your name, the name of your media outlet, and FCCJ membership number. Due to space restrictions attendance will be limited to 20 people. Doors open 30 minutes before the event. Please sign in, giving your name and contact details at the reception, and have your temperature taken before proceeding. 

How to watch online: https://www.youtube.com/c/FCCJchannel/live 　
Livestreaming of the press events will be available and video of this event will be uploaded to our FCCJ YouTube channel. 

How to ask questions: https://forms.gle/j5TkkGUAXWLF2PF36  　
Members watching the event online can submit questions for the speakers in advance using this submission form.

TV crew: Please make a reservation at front@fccj.or.jp. Doors open for TV crews only at 45 minutes before the event. There will be five positions available for livestreaming. 

Professional Activities Committee