Renho may officially be running for the July 7 Tokyo gubernatorial election as an independent, but one factor clouding the former Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) lawmaker's prospects of winning over voters in the race that kicks off Thursday is just how close they think she is to the Japanese Communist Party.
Demonstrating her independence has been made more difficult by the appearance of a two-page flier in which the JCP endorsed Renho.
The flier, which appeared last week, quotes Renho's May 27 news conference where she announced her candidacy and criticized the Liberal Democratic Party over its political funds scandal. At the bottom of the front page, beside a photo of JCP Chair Tomoko Tamura, an Upper House member, the JCP offers Renho its full support. On the back page, it lists the policies of the JCP’s Tokyo chapter in such a way as to create the impression that Renho has also endorsed these specific policies.