Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
young people in the current generation of youth do not face such issues,
politicians are seen as people whose role is to look after those who are suf-
fering
financially or socially, or who are discriminated against, and to ensure
basic human rights. Informants proudly mentioned Komeito
s long-term
commitment to welfare policies or to policies that ensure equal rights of resi-
dents of non-Japanese origin, such as the rights of residents of Korean descent.
For instance, Maguro, one of the group leaders in the UNRC and a second-
year social science student, explained his reason for getting involved with the
election as due to
'
'
the way of thinking I have learned from Soka Gakkai
'
,
which he described as:
compassionate concern for weaker members of society. I think this is
the best way of thinking. Therefore, I would like to see people with the
same kind of philosophy become politicians. Another reason [for supporting
Komeito] is liking individual politicians for their personal attributes, I am
supporting Hamayotsu-san. She is a great person.
(conversation with Maguro, 31/05/2004)
…
Hamayotsu Toshiko was in 2003 and 2004 by far the favourite politician
among Komeito supporters. A long-time campaigner for the rights of chil-
dren, women and the elderly, in the July 2004 election she received the most
votes of any politician in Japan standing in the national constituency of the House
of Councillors Election, close to 2 million. Her popularity among Soka
Gakkai members re
ected the image young Komeito supporters have of an ideal
politician. As the then Acting Chief Representative of Komeito, Hamayotsu is
a lawyer who gained popularity in Soka Gakkai for her work with children
and the elderly. Male and female supporters equally admired her for her see-
mingly upright, honest, intelligent and caring character. She appeared to be a
politician who worked ceaselessly for the betterment of the people and society
as a whole and in many ways was a symbol or embodiment of the reasons
why they supported Komeito. Coming close to how Ikeda portrays the ideal
politician
-
sel
ess, caring and working hard for social justice and for people
'
s
welfare
dence in the party among supporters. This was
especially visible when the decision to support the dispatch of the SDF to
Iraq had to be made (discussed in the next chapter), a position with which
many supporters were at
-
she inspired con
first uncomfortable. She made a personal trip to Iraq
before the war of March 2003 and to Iran as part of Komeito
s campaign to
rejuvenate the huge areas of dried up marshlands in Iraq and Iran. This
consequently won acceptance and, more importantly, funding from the Japa-
nese government as a way to generate work and rejuvenate the area. Many
Soka Gakkai youths had been involved in raising awareness in Japan about
this issue and collected over
'
five million signatures to demonstrate public
support for the rejuvenation. Hamayotsu
'
s presence and actions inspired
con
dence among the supporters that the SDF was part of a humanitarian
mission to help the Iraqi people.
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