2023–24 NHK Party dispute

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2023–24 NHK Party dispute
DateApril 7, 2023 – present
(1 year, 1 month, 1 week and 4 days)
CauseTakashi Tachibana's unsuccessful attempt to unseat Ayaka Otsu as party leader
ParticipantsNHK Party[a]
Otsu faction
  • Ayaka Otsu
  • Ryota Akegato
  • Natsuki Matsumoto
  • Naoki Miyagawa
Tachibana faction
Outcome
  • Otsu wing recognized as the sole legal party leadership by the Japanese government as of May 2024
  • NHK Party loses official national party status on January 2024
  • NHK Party files bankrupcy on March 2024
  • Councillors loyal to Tachibana forms the NHK Party parliamentary group

A dispute within the NHK Party, a political party in Japan, began on April 7, 2023 when former party leader Takashi Tachibana, who earlier resigned in favor of the current leader Ayaka Otsu the previous month announced in a press conference that he was re-assuming the leadership without prior knowledge of Otsu. This led to her denying the change of leadership, leading to the creation of two opposing factions within the party.[1][2][3] The dispute has led to the disintegration of the party. Having lost all of their local assembly and National Diet seats, the party lost their status as an official national party recognized by the Government of Japan in January 2024,[4] and the party soon after filed for bankruptcy in March 2024.[5][6]

As of May 2024, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications recognizes the Otsu faction as the legitimate members of the party.[7][8]

Background[edit]

YouTuber Yoshikazu Higashitani, known by his YouTube alias GaaSyy, was elected in the 2022 House of Councillors election as a candidate for the party but was later expelled 8 months later in March 2023 for not attending any sessions, reputedly due to his fear of being arrested on grounds of alleged fraud and defamation against celebrities if he were to return to Japan, as he was residing in the United Arab Emirates for the entirety of his term.[9][10] Due to this, Tachibana would resign as the party's leader on a press conference, where he announced former child actress Ayaka Otsu as his successor, and the rebranding of the party to Seijika Joshi 48 tō (政治家女子48党, Politician Girls 48 Party).[11]

Events[edit]

On 7 April 2023, Tachibana held a press conference and announced that Otsu had been expelled from the party on the previous day, stating that Otsu "posed a risk of dissolving the party." Tachibana then announced that he would return to the position of party leader. In response, Otsu held her own press conference, denying her resignation which split the party between the Otsu wing and the Tachibana wing.[12][13][14] On the same day, the Tachibana wing submitted a notification to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) through the Chiba Prefectural Election Commission to make the leadership change official, but declined to do so, recognizing Otsu as the sole leader of the party.[15][16]

The Tachibana wing attempted to revert the party to its old identity, sending a request to the Central Election Management Board that the party would change its name to "The Party to Protect the People from NHK" (NHKから国民を守る党). However, this was rejected.[17]

On 10 August 2023, the 2 members of the party in the House of Councillors (Satoshi Hamada and Kenichiro Saito) submitted a notification to the House of Councilors Secretariat, changing the name of their parliamentary group to "The Party to Protect the People from NHK" (NHKから国民を守る党), signifying their support for Tachibana.[18]

On 6 November 2023, Otsu held a press conference and announced the change of the party's name to "The Collaborative Party" (みんなでつくる党).[19] The Tachibana wing denied the name changing, stating that that "Otsu has no right to represent the party.''[20] However, the MIC once again ruled in favor of the Otsu wing, accepting the name change on 14 November.[21]

Hamada and Saito decided to leave the party in an announcement posted on January 7, 2024 citing their opposition of the current leadership under Otsu.[22] The Otsu wing formally expelled the both of them from the party on January 19, resulting in the loss of the party's official status as a national party recognized by the Japanese government as the party no longer held any seats in the National Diet, losing approximately 3.3 billion yen (US$21.7 million) worth of annual government subsidies.[23]

The Tachibana wing declared bankruptcy and proceedings soon commenced on 14 March 2024, as it was revealed that the party was 1.1 billion yen (US$7.2 million) in debt to approximately 300 creditors. However, the Otsu wing said that they will appeal the decision, citing that Tachibana filed bankrupcy to "escape from the various fraudulent acts done by Tachibana and his allies."[24][25]

Faction leaders[edit]

Position Otsu wing Tachibana wing
Leader Ayaka Otsu Takashi Tachibana
Deputy Leader none Hodaka Maruyama
Secretary-General Ryota Akegato & Natsuki Matsumoto Satoshi Hamada
Auditor Naoki Miyagawa none

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The Otsu faction asserts "The Collaborative Party" as the official party name while the Tachibana faction maintains "The Party to Protect the People from NHK" as their party name. The Japanese government recognizes the Otsu faction's name as the party's sole official name.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "政治家女子48党わずか１カ月で空中分解 大津党首は除名処分も認めず、新党首に立花氏復帰 - 社会 : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  2. ^ "◎政女党、立花氏が「党首就任」＝大津氏を除名、主張食い違いも". 時事通信ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  3. ^ "政治家女子48党、人事で対立 「党首交代」食い違い". 日本経済新聞 (in Japanese). April 7, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  4. ^ "自民の今年分政党交付金は１６０億円でトップ 立民は６８億円、各党配分試算". The Sankei Shimbun. January 17, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  5. ^ "旧：NHKから国民を守る党破産手続き開始決定受ける". Teikoku Databank. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  6. ^ "（告知・公表）破産手続き開始決定に至る経緯等の説明会のお知らせ | みんなでつくる党". www.mintsuku.org. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  7. ^ "【1ページ目】斉藤健一郎氏への代表変更届を法務局が拒否「大津綾香氏のサインがない」【政女党お家騒動】". 東スポWEB (in Japanese). June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  8. ^ "政女党が「みんなでつくる党」に ９回目の名称変更". 産経ニュース (in Japanese). November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  9. ^ "GaaSyy: Japan YouTuber MP expelled for never going to work". BBC News. March 14, 2023.
  10. ^ "GaaSyy: Japan YouTuber arrested over celebrity threats". BBC News. June 4, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  11. ^ "NHK Party leader to step down over YouTuber member's absence from Japan's Diet". Mainichi Daily News. March 8, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  12. ^ "政治家女子48党わずか１カ月で空中分解 大津党首は除名処分も認めず、新党首に立花氏復帰 - 社会 : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  13. ^ "◎政女党、立花氏が「党首就任」＝大津氏を除名、主張食い違いも". 時事通信ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  14. ^ "政治家女子48党、人事で対立 「党首交代」食い違い". 日本経済新聞 (in Japanese). April 7, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  15. ^ "【1ページ目】斉藤健一郎氏への代表変更届を法務局が拒否「大津綾香氏のサインがない」【政女党お家騒動】". 東スポWEB (in Japanese). June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  16. ^ "党首は誰? 政治家女子48、交付金の行方は 「お家騒動」は法廷に：朝日新聞デジタル". 朝日新聞デジタル (in Japanese). April 27, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  17. ^ "政治家女子４８党の党名変更認めず 中央選管「届け出に疑義」". 産経ニュース (in Japanese). September 5, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  18. ^ "政女党が「NHKから国民を守る党」に 参院会派名を変更". 毎日新聞 (in Japanese). Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  19. ^ 慎平, 奥原 (November 6, 2023). "政女党から「みんなでつくる党」 党名変更９回目 大津氏「もう変えない」〝炎上政党〟脱却アピール". 産経ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  20. ^ 慎平, 奥原 (November 8, 2023). "政女党の立花孝志氏 党名変更発表の大津綾香氏に反論 「代表権はない」". 産経ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  21. ^ "政女党が「みんなでつくる党」に ９回目の名称変更". 産経ニュース (in Japanese). November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  22. ^ "写真：大津綾香氏が党首としてＮＨＫ出演も…浜田聡氏の離党表明で政党要件崖っぷち". 東スポWEB (in Japanese). January 7, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  23. ^ "みんつく党大津綾香氏「立花さんと一刻も早く縁を切りたい」斉藤健一郎、浜田聡両参院議員の除名揺るがない（よろず～ニュース） - Yahoo!ニュース". web.archive.org. February 1, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  24. ^ "旧：NHKから国民を守る党破産手続き開始決定受ける". Teikoku Databank. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  25. ^ "（告知・公表）破産手続き開始決定に至る経緯等の説明会のお知らせ | みんなでつくる党". www.mintsuku.org. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
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