Yokohama\u2019s mayoral elections are only two months away and the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan is still looking for a strong anti-IR candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Japan.- Time is ticking and the\u00a0Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ)<\/strong>\u00a0still hasn’t selected its anti-IR candidate\u00a0<\/strong>for Yokohama\u2019s mayoral elections to be held on\u00a0Sunday, August 22<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CDPJ\u00a0had hoped to select a unified candidate by April<\/strong>. The second-largest opposition party in the country,\u00a0the Japan Communist Party<\/strong>, offered to withdraw its independent candidate to give more chances to a single\u00a0anti-IR candidate<\/strong>, but\u00a0the CDPJ appears to be unsure about the strategy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are currently two independent anti-IR candidates <\/strong>who have launched their respective campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Masataka Ota<\/a> is a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party who has expressed his stance against Yokohama participating in a bid for an integrated resort licence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then there\u2019s Akiko Fujimura<\/a>, the representative director of an animal welfare group, who has stated that if she wins the election, she will order the immediate cancellation of the city\u2019s IR project<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other side of the fence, current\u00a0pro-IR mayor Fumiko Hayashi<\/a>\u00a0has yet to announce\u00a0whether she will run for a fourth term in office<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In May, 90-year-old Yukio Fujiki<\/a>, chairman of the Yokohama Port Harbor Resort Association and a strong opponent against the development of an IR<\/a> in Yokohama launched an organisation called \u201cYokohama Future Concept Conference\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At an inaugural conference, Fujiki criticised Japan\u2019s pro-IR Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga<\/strong>, saying he had betrayed people through the IR initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Genting Singapore and Melco Resorts<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>are the only\u00a0IR contenders<\/a>\u00a0to reach the final stage of Yokohama process to select an IR partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOnly two companies remain in contest for Yokoham’s IR bid<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n