THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
May 19, 2024 at 15:02 JST
Tsubasa no To secretary-general Ryosuke Nemoto and others follow the campaign car of a candidate from the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan on April 17 and broadcast the chase live. (From Tsubasa no To’s YouTube site)
Around 10 supporters of a Tokyo group bent on disrupting the electoral process were found to be living in the house of one of the leaders, police said.
Members of political organization Tsubasa no To actively disrupted the campaigns of rival candidates in the Lower House by-election in Tokyo in April.
They accomplished this by heckling speakers through loudhailers, chasing campaign vehicles through Tokyo’s streets and uploading footage of their activities on social media.
Police on May 17 arrested three of the group’s leaders in connection with these activities. Specifically, they were accused of breaching the Public Offices Election Law.
The suspects were identified as Tsubasa no To leader Atsuhiko Kurokawa, 45, campaign staffer Hayato Sugita, 39, and Ryosuke Nemoto, the organization’s secretary-general. Nemoto, 29, was one of nine candidates in the by-election in the Tokyo No. 15 district held on April 28. He finished last.
On May 13, Tokyo investigators searched the office of Tsubasa no To, as well as the homes of both Kurokawa and Nemoto.
As a result, police learned that 10 or so male and female supporters of the group were living in Nemoto’s home in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward. It was there, police contend, that the trio and their supporters conspired to disrupt campaign speeches.
On April 16, the first day of official campaigning, police say the trio interrupted speeches given by Hirotada Ototake, a 48-year-old candidate, and his supporters in front of JR Kameido Station in Koto Ward by shouting at him through a loudhailer and honking their car horns.
Police confirmed similar disruptive acts on at least five other occasions during the election period. They also confirmed more than 10 instances of group members chasing the campaign cars of other camps.
This, police said, may result in additional criminal charges being filed.
(This article was written by Tabito Fukutomi and Arata Mitsui.)
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