March 31, 2026

An independent female candidate backed by concerned citizens and opposition parties, including the Japanese Communist Party, won the Kiyose City mayoral election in Tokyo on March 29, defeating the incumbent supported by the Liberal Democratic and “Komeito” parties.

Harada Hiromi, 50, who was a JCP city assembly member for six terms since 2003, received 13,064 votes while her rival Shibuya Keishi obtained 11,746 votes. The voter turnout rate was 40.18%, up 0.77 points from the previous election four years ago.

In the city, Mayor Shibuya had announced a plan to reduce the number of public libraries from six to three at the end of March 2025. Following this announcement, a grassroots movement opposing the closure of public libraries grew.

Joining the citizens’ movement, Harada worked together with concerned citizens to maintain the six libraries by such means as campaigning for a local referendum on this issue.

During the mayoral election campaign, Harada criticized the incumbent for intending to implement policies leading to cutbacks in public services and promoting large-scale development projects. Under the slogan of realizing a city administration that hears the people’s voices, the former JCP city assemblyperson promised to carry out residents-oriented policies which include town development through dialogue, and this policy platform gained voters’ support.