 Communist town mayor elected to his 7th term Japanese Communist Party member and incumbent mayor Yamada Kenzo won his 7th term in the September 12 mayoral election in Nanko Town, Hyogo Prefecture. In a close race with voter turnout at 85 percent, Yamada received 1,669 votes, defeating his challenger who got 1,438 votes. Nanko Town is to merge with two towns in October 2005, and this election was the last before the merger. During the campaign, Yamada who held office for six terms in 24 years called for social-economic development using the town's specialty, sunflowers, to be continued after the merger, along with good medical and welfare services. The opponent, supported by Liberal Democratic Party dietmembers and prefectural assembly members during the election campaign, slandered Yamada by saying that he would not sign a merger agreement because he is a communist. Townspeople who affiliated themselves with an association for a bright town administration rejected this false argument and campaigned for Yamada. After the election, Yamada said, "I will do all I can to make the planned merger as good as possible based on townspeople's consensus." (end) |