When Tokyo was Socialist: the Story of Governor Minobe

Summary

The video explores the fascinating tenure of Tokyo's former governor, Minobe Ryokichi, who was a notable Marxist professor and the son of a wartime academic. Serving three terms from 1967 to 1979, Minobe implemented progressive policies that aimed to improve the quality of life in Tokyo. His leadership was marked by efforts to combat pollution, enhance social welfare, and promote participatory governance, leading to a period occasionally referred to as Tokyo's socialist era. Despite initial challenges from conservative forces, Minobe's proactive governance left a lasting impact on Tokyo's administration, setting a precedent for future policies.

Highlights

• Minobe Ryokichi's tenure was a groundbreaking period for Tokyo's governance. 🔥
• He faced significant opposition from conservative forces during his time in office. ⚔️
• Minobe implemented initiatives to improve environmental conditions in Tokyo. 🌱
• His social welfare policies provided support to underprivileged groups. 😊
• Despite challenges, Minobe's leadership style was characterized by dialogue and participation. 🗣️

Key Takeaways

• Minobe Ryokichi was a Marxist professor turned Tokyo governor who brought socialist policies to the city. 🌟
• Under Minobe, Tokyo saw improved social welfare programs and environmental policies. 🌿
• Minobe successfully navigated opposition from conservative parties to implement wide-reaching reforms. 🚀
• His tenure marked a unique period in Tokyo's political history, earning it the label of a 'socialist era'. 🕰️
• Minobe's policies laid the groundwork for future progressive initiatives in Tokyo. 📜

Overview

Minobe Ryokichi, the Marxist professor who became governor of Tokyo, represents a fascinating chapter in Tokyo's political history. During his tenure from 1967 to 1979, Minobe championed a range of progressive policies aimed at improving the quality of life for Tokyo residents. His approach to governance involved increasing social welfare, tackling pollution, and reorganizing Tokyo's bureaucratic structure to promote efficiency and transparency.

One of Minobe's most notable achievements was his commitment to environmental reforms in a rapidly industrializing Tokyo. He addressed the city's massive garbage problem and endeavored to make Tokyo more livable by adopting policies that later influenced national standards. His administration introduced unprecedented social welfare programs, including free medical care for the elderly, demonstrating a commitment to inclusive progress.

Minobe's efforts were not without challenges, as he faced substantial resistance from conservative political forces. However, his charismatic leadership and commitment to participatory governance fostered a rare period of leftist leadership in the capital. Although his era ended with Tokyo reverting to more conservative leadership, Minobe's legacy of progress had a profound and lasting influence on the city's policies.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction The chapter describes the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building's design and location. Situated just west of the world's busiest train station, its towering structure dominates the skyline among a sea of skyscrapers. The facade, reminiscent of a cathedral, was crafted by the renowned architect Tange Kinzo.
• 01:00 - 03:00: Overview of Tokyo Metropolitan Government The chapter titled 'Overview of Tokyo Metropolitan Government' discusses Tokyo's rapid technological advancement represented metaphorically by an 'integrated circuit'. It describes Tokyo's complex bureaucracy, highlighting the governance of this massive city from a central complex by the governor and a workforce exceeding 150,000 local government employees. The governor's role as the head of government for Japan's capital is emphasized.
• 03:00 - 05:00: Governor Koike Yuriko and Political Context in Japan The chapter delves into the political landscape of Tokyo, focusing on the role and influence of its governor. Since 2016, Tokyo's governance has been led by Koike Yuriko, a pivotal figure noted for her conservative nationalism and as Tokyo's first female governor. The chapter highlights her impact on both local and national politics, examining her political ideology which aligns with conservatism, at times considered even ultra-conservative, reflecting broader trends in Japan's national politics.
• 05:00 - 07:00: Emergence of Progressive Politics in the Late 1960s The chapter discusses the emergence of progressive politics in Japan during the late 1960s. It highlights how the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had controlled the country's post-war political landscape, including local governments, which were predominantly led by conservative politicians. However, during this period, there was a significant rise in local support for progressive movements, challenging the long-standing conservative dominance, particularly in regions like Tokyo.
• 07:00 - 09:00: Minobe Ryokichi's Early Life The chapter discusses the rise of progressive politicians in Japan, backed by the socialist and communist parties, as they gained power in various prefectures, challenging the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). A central figure in this political shift was Minobe Ryokichi, a Marxist professor known for his charisma and TV appearances, who was also the son of an individual considered an enemy of the state during wartime.
• 09:00 - 11:00: Minobe's Father's Influence and the Emperor Organ Theory The chapter discusses how Minobe's leadership in Tokyo from 1967 to 1979 led to the implementation of progressive policies that enhanced the quality of life for its citizens, making Tokyo seem almost socialist. Despite changes over a decade, these policies marked a significant shift in the political landscape of Tokyo during his tenure.
• 11:00 - 13:00: Academic and Political Challenges for Minobe The chapter "Academic and Political Challenges for Minobe" begins with an introduction by Noah Oscar from Unseen Japan, who expresses enthusiasm about presenting a video that has been long anticipated. The focus is on Governor Minobe and his socialist era in Tokyo. This topic was chosen after a poll conducted with Patreon members, highlighting it as a major historical subject of interest. The chapter sets the stage for an in-depth exploration of Governor Minobe's influence and the academic and political challenges he faced during his tenure.
• 13:00 - 15:00: Post-War Japan and Minobe's Career The chapter begins with a thank you to patrons who support the creation of content through research, writing, and editing. The narrator expresses hope for high approval of the work due to the extensive effort invested. The focus then shifts to the historical context of post-war Japan, introducing Governor Minobe Ryokichi, who was born in 1904. This marks the 37th year of the Meiji era, a reference that situates his birth in the timeline of Japan's modernization period.
• 15:00 - 18:00: The 1960s: Olympics and Political Shifts The chapter titled 'The 1960s: Olympics and Political Shifts' reflects on major events in Japan's history, focusing on its transformation through different eras. It spans from the birth of an individual significant to Japanese history during the Meiji era, just as the Russo-Japanese War began, to the country's emergence as a major economic power by 1984, following the aftermath of World War II. The chapter also touches on Tokyo's evolution, noting its status at the individual's birthplace as the capital of the Empire of Japan, formerly known as Tokyo Fu, before it became the Tokyo Metropolitan area.
• 18:00 - 20:00: Environmental and Social Challenges in Tokyo The chapter discusses the historical and rapid development of Tokyo, originally known as Tokyo City, which initially comprised only 15 wards. This contrasts with today's 23 special wards, highlighting the city's expansion alongside Japan's emergence from isolation to becoming an industrialized nation.
• 20:00 - 22:00: Minobe's Rise to Tokyo Governor in 1967 The chapter discusses the historical context of Minobe's rise to the position of Tokyo Governor in 1967. It reflects on the Taisho Democracy period, characterized by the reign of the frail Taisho Emperor, Meiji's son. During this era, Minobe's father, Tatsukichi, emerged as a prominent constitutional thinker. He served as a professor at Tokyo Imperial University and gained recognition in 1912, the same year the Meiji Emperor passed away, by publishing his influential writings on the emperor organ theory.
• 22:00 - 24:00: Minobe's Policies and Political Impact The chapter titled 'Minobe's Policies and Political Impact' explores Tatsukichi Minobe's interpretation of the Constitution of Japan, which clarified the role of the emperor in the state's governance structure. Minobe posited that the emperor was just one of several organs in the state apparatus, emphasizing the collective nature of governance that included various government and bureaucratic systems. Together, these elements formed the 'kokutai,' or national polity. This perspective resonated with many liberal thinkers of the era, who saw it as an appropriate depiction of the emperor's role in civic society.
• 24:00 - 26:00: International Relations and North Korea Visit This chapter delves into historical shifts in Japan's political dynamics during the Taisho period. It highlights how the 'organ theory' thrived due to the Taisho Emperor's inability to directly govern, thus allowing the government to operate relatively independently. Concurrently, Crown Prince Hirohito was groomed to assume a role similar to that of his influential grandfather, Emperor Meiji, rather than the more symbolic position of his father.
• 26:00 - 28:00: Minobe's Environmental Initiatives The chapter discusses Minobe's environmental initiatives in contrast with his theoretical positions that were not well received due to their constitutional interpretations. The focus shifts to Hirohito's enthronement as the Showa emperor in 1926 and the formation of a strong cult around emperor worship, surpassing that of his father Meiji. This era marked an increase in fanaticism, especially during the bellicose 1930s when far-right radicals began to target individuals like Minobe Tatsukichi, criticizing his ideologies.
• 28:00 - 30:00: Challenges During the 1970s Oil Shock The chapter 'Challenges During the 1970s Oil Shock' begins by reflecting on the generational and ideological shifts experienced by Minobe, observing the evolution from his father's celebrated role in constitutional thought to becoming a persona non-grata in the 1920s. Minobe's transition from childhood to adulthood is set against the backdrop of Japan's socio-political landscape, as he follows in his father's academic footsteps by enrolling in the Tokyo Imperial University's economics department, where his father had been a prominent law faculty member.
• 30:00 - 32:00: Third Term and Ishihara Shintaro's Opposition In this chapter, the focus is on the influential Marxist Economist, Ouchi Minobe, who was introduced to the Ronoha, a school of Marxist thought native to Japan. During the 1920s, communist professors like him could work with a certain level of freedom, although they faced scrutiny from the government. An example of this occurred in 1919 when the Home Ministry took Ouchi Minobe to court due to his involvement in publishing an academic article.
• 32:00 - 34:00: End of Minobe's Governorship The chapter 'End of Minobe's Governorship' discusses the political climate during Minobe's tenure as Governor. It highlights the fear within the government regarding the spread of leftist radicalism in Japan, influenced by the Russian Revolution. Despite the challenges, Minobe and his protégé, Ochi, maintained a close relationship. The chapter notes that even into the 1970s, Minobe sought counsel from his old mentor.
• 34:00 - 36:00: Legacy and Political Impact The chapter titled 'Legacy and Political Impact' discusses the early academic career of Minobe. In the 1920s, under the guidance of an instructor, Minobe embarked on an academic journey focused on the challenges Marxism predicted for late-stage capitalism, with a specialization in inflation. By 1927, he graduated and became an assistant professor at his alma mater, quickly rising to a full professor position. Despite his belief in harmonizing Marxist ideology with everyday life, this stance led to conflicts with anti-communist scholars, particularly with Professor Kawaii.
• 36:00 - 38:00: Conclusion The chapter 'Conclusion' discusses the challenges faced by Minove at Tokyo Imperial as his father's public life was increasingly targeted by far-right forces. Professor Kawai, who strongly advocated for democracy, encountered a relentless attack from these right-wing elements. On February 18, 1935, the radical rightist Baron Kikuchi Takeo publicly criticized Minobe's father's Organ Theory, marking a significant moment in the sustained opposition they faced from the right.

When Tokyo was Socialist: the Story of Governor Minobe Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] foreign [Music] just west of the world's busiest train station the Colossal towers of the Tokyo Metropolitan government building hover above a mass of skyscrapers the cathedral-esque facade was designed by the famed architect tange kinzo in order
• 00:30 - 01:00 to resemble an integrated circuit what better symbol could there be for Tokyo a metropolis whose meteoric rise was predicated on high tech the whole of Tokyo and its Byzantine bureaucracy is governed from within this massive complex and presiding over it all and over more than a hundred and fifty thousand local government employees is the governor of Tokyo as the head of government for Japan's capital and the world's most
• 01:00 - 01:30 populous urban area with its greatest single GDP the governor of Tokyo is a uniquely powerful entity on both a local and national scale since 2016 the office has been occupied by koike yuriko a conservative Nationalist and Tokyo's first female governor that koike would be a conservative and at times even labeled as ultra-conservative likely comes as no surprise Japan's national government has been
• 01:30 - 02:00 controlled by the right-wing liberal Democratic party or ldp for short for the vast majority of the country's post-war history the Japan's local governments would also be similarly led by conservative politicians is a rational assumption indeed most Tokyo Governors have been conservative or even Arch conservative but this wasn't always the case in the late 1960s there emerged a major upswell in local support for
• 02:00 - 02:30 Progressive politicians across Japan nominees backed by the Japanese socialist and Japanese communist parties found themselves newly empowered prefecture after prefecture chose left-wing leadership skewing the hand-picked nominees of the ruling ldp and chief among these radical local leaders was minorbe ryokichi a Marxist Professor smiling TV star and the son of a wartime Enemy of the State minobe
• 02:30 - 03:00 would lead Tokyo for three terms remaining electorally undefeated upon leaving his post in 1979. for more than a decade following his election in 1967 while minobay udyokichi LED Japan's capital from the old government building in central Toyota Tokyo launched a series of groundbreaking Progressive policies aimed at increasing quality of life for the metropolis's millions of citizens and for a time one could almost say that Tokyo was socialist
• 03:00 - 03:30 foreign [Music] and welcome back to unseen Japan as always I'm Noah Oscar and today I'm happy to present a video that's been a while in the making governor minobe and his socialist era of Tokyo have been a topic I've been wanting to cover and our members over at patreon just so happen to agree voting it to the top spot in a poll on major historical topics for us
• 03:30 - 04:00 to cover over here on YouTube the amount of research writing and editing that went into this one are possible thanks to said patrons I'll have another pull up soon for those who would like to support us over on that platform so with all the work involved in this video I hope it gets high marks ugh uh all right let's just jump back into the story of governor minove ryokichi was born in 1904. the 37th year
• 04:00 - 04:30 of the Meiji era three days after his birth the russo-japanese War Began and by the time inobe passed away in 1984 Japan was an ascendant economic giant long since recovered from the devastation of World War II his birthplace was the capital of the Empire of Japan although Tokyo had not yet taken the administrative form he would eventually govern at the time it was known as Tokyo Fu the Tokyo Metropolitan
• 04:30 - 05:00 prefecture there was even still such a thing as Tokyo City then composed of a mere 15 Wards its boundaries falling far short of the 23 special Awards we know today minobe grew up in a rapidly changing Japan one which had emerged from its fetal isolation to become an industrializing world power when he was only 10 years old Emperor Meiji passed away Mino base adolescence occurred during the comparatively open and Forward
• 05:00 - 05:30 Thinking years of the so-called taisho democracy wherein meiji's son and air the taisho emperor was too frail to effectively project the power of a monarchic state minobe's own father tatsukichi was one of the great constitutional thinkers of the age the Elder minove was a professor at Tokyo Imperial University in 1912 the year of the Meiji Emperor's passing he published his writings on what would become known as the emperor organ theory
• 05:30 - 06:00 of state two midobe tatsukichi the constitution of Japan clarified the emperor's position within the state as being one organ among many the emperor had an important role to play alongside the various levers of government and bureaucracy together all the organs of State comprised the kokutai the national polity for many liberal thinkers of the day this was a fitting explanation of the emperor's place in Civic society and
• 06:00 - 06:30 one which paved a path towards Japan's function as a constitutional monarchy while the taisho emperor yet reigned the organ Theory easily held water after all the emperor was not physically able to rule and could hardly impose his will over the decisions of the government however all the while taisho's son Hirohito was being raised to occupy a position more like that of his powerful grandfather Meiji than his rarely seen father Hirohito himself read the Elder
• 06:30 - 07:00 Mino base theories but generally rejected them for oppositional constitutional readings that would Grant him greater power once Hirohito was enthroned as the Shoah emperor in 1926 he quickly developed a much stronger Cult of Emperor worship than his father one which would eventually become more fanatical than even that devoted to Meiji in the increasingly bellicose 1930s far-right radicals began targeting aminobe tatsukichi decrying his organ
• 07:00 - 07:30 Theory as blasphemy against the all-encompassing power of the Emperor as he grew from a child into adulthood Mino Bay odyokichi watched on as his father went from celebrated Pioneer of constitutional thought to Persona non-greta in the early 1920s the younger minobe entered the prestigious economics Department of the Tokyo Imperial University the very same school where his father was director of The Faculty of law he was quickly taken under the
• 07:30 - 08:00 wing of the influential Marxist Economist ouchihoe via oruchi minobe would be introduced to the ronoha the labor farmer School of Marx's thought indigenous to Japan in the 1920s communist professors could still operate with comparative Freedom within Japan yet ouchi had already faced government scrutiny for his views in 1919 the home Ministry had taken him to court over his assistance in the publication of an academic article the
• 08:00 - 08:30 government deemed anarchistic the Russian Revolution had only just occurred even within the lacks environment of the taisho era the power structure feared that leftist radicalism would spread to Japan the increasing difficulties both Ochi and the younger minobe would face during the pre-war years the teacher and pupil remained close even into minobe's third term as Governor in the then far-off 1970s he would still turn to his old
• 08:30 - 09:00 instructor for advice back in the 1920s owuji set minobe down an academic path focused on the issues Marxism predicted for late stage capitalism his specialty became inflation in 1927 minobe graduated immediately taking on a job as an assistant professor at his alma mater soon made full Professor his matter-of-fact belief in the compatibility of being both a Marxist and an everyday member of society soon brought down the Wrath of the anti-communist professor Kawaii
• 09:00 - 09:30 egiro life at Tokyo Imperial became untenable for minove just as his father's public life was coming under repeated attack from far-right forces Professor Kawai a firm believer in democracy would eventually face his own sustained attack from the right on February 18 1935 the radical rightist Baron Kikuchi Takeo took to the house appears to publicly decry minobe's father's organ Theory the theory the
• 09:30 - 10:00 baron insisted was the traitorous thought of an academic Rebel the baron called upon the government of prime minister okada to ban tatsukishi's writings the baron was a retired Imperial Army General the Army was becoming ever more bellicose and unruly taking actions on the Asian mainland and countermanding the Japanese government itself radicals throughout the Army wanted to enact a showa restoration granting the emperor unlimited power
• 10:00 - 10:30 minorbe tatsukichi's theories stood in the way of that showa restoration and he became a target of mass rage a week after the baron speech tatsukichi gave an impassioned defense of his theories in front of the house of peers of which he himself was a member outside protesters aligned with the Imperial wave faction held placards denouncing minobe as a traitor prime minister okada bowed to right as pressure Banning minobe tatsukiji's work and allowing him
• 10:30 - 11:00 to be investigated for the crime of Les majeste insulting the Monarch minobi was forced to step down from his Imperial appointments and the government began a process of spreading the correct conception of The Emperor's place in society the Banning of minobe's Father's books and his retirement from public life did not entirely satiate the anger that had been drummed up against him on February 21 1936 a far-right hoodlum named
• 11:00 - 11:30 odajuzel used a falsified business card to gain a meeting at minobe's house inside a gift basket he hid a pistol after exchanging pleasantries with minobe he pulled the gun and unloaded the older man was hit but managed to flee he caught his leg up in barbed wire as he ran across the fields near his house although badly wounded the Elder minobe survived the assassination attempt Oda the would-be Assassin received only
• 11:30 - 12:00 three years imprisonment as punishment only two years would pass from the attempt on his father's life until minobe himself was imprisoned starting in 1937 with the fall of Nanjing the Japanese police began making regular Mass arrests of known leftists in 1938 the police came for minobe briefly imprisoning him because of his association with the euronoha group Mino base Mentor ouchi was arrested the next year
• 12:00 - 12:30 both were fired from their universities and had to look for work elsewhere the watchful eye of the Japanese secret police maintained their secretive Gaze on the minove family until the fall of the Empire of Japan in 1945. below them is Tokyo within a radius of 15 miles of the Imperial Palace lives 7 million Japanese a people we used to think of as small dainty polite concerning
• 12:30 - 13:00 themselves only with floral arrangements and Rock Gardens and the cultivation of silkworms but it isn't silkworms and it isn't Imperial palaces these men are looking for well bud what are you waiting for thank you [Music] despite all he had experienced all the terrible things he had seen happen to
• 13:00 - 13:30 those close to him minobe ryokichi emerged through the devastation of the Warriors relatively unscathed perhaps because of the persecution he'd experienced he held firm to his Marxist beliefs even in his later years as a politician when many leftists began to doubt his commitment to the Revolutionary cause he'd still call himself a flexible utopian socialist with the old system in Ruins and the U.S occupation opening up politics to all Creeds and backgrounds the sky seemed
• 13:30 - 14:00 the limit for what could be achieved in Japan Tokyo emerged from World War II as a burnt out husk of its former self no longer the capital of one of the largest Empires on Earth it was now merely a city of rubble from which a foreign occupying power ruled minobe witnessed the many years of U.S occupation and rebuilding as both an editorial author for the mayonnichi newspaper and as a high-ranking station for the disempowered government of Japan
• 14:00 - 14:30 meanwhile his father tatsukichi became an active advisor in the compilation of Japan's new post-war Constitution he would pass away in 1948. 1947 saw a major change in the composition of Tokyo itself the 23 special award system came into effect and the borders of what had been the city of Tokyo were extended into what was once the countryside including such
• 14:30 - 15:00 major modern population centers as Shinjuku itself and Shibuya meanwhile the very first popularly elected governor of Tokyo yasui seichiro came into power presiding over both the 23 special Wards of the old city of Tokyo which was no longer a city and the municipalities that lay Beyond in Tokyo's Western boundaries the occupation years were a time of great poverty difficulty and
• 15:00 - 15:30 malaise but also of innovation unburdened by the oppressive levers of the Imperial State labor unions and alternative political parties flourished a true popular vote including the long-awaited enfranchisement of women came into effect obtaining a liberal education became a goal of many young people even though the university infrastructure would take years to repair itself and to catch up with increased demand socialist and Communist party members released from Imperial prisons emerged
• 15:30 - 16:00 as Folk Heroes the Japanese Socialist Party gained in popularity and through the early 1950s proved a powerful force in electoral politics meanwhile as the dangers of the Cold War became apparent and in light of both the threat of the Soviet Union and the Victory of the Communist Army in the Chinese Civil War the occupation forces did an about face the United States felt that the desire for a Democratic Society had been instilled in the Japanese populace and it was now time to shore up
• 16:00 - 16:30 Japan as a bulwark against communism rather than letting the country move farther to the left the CIA began secretly funneling money to the various Japanese right-wing parties in 1955 the conservative side of Japanese politics coalesced from warring factions into a single powerful party the liberal Democratic party the Socialist Party could no longer count on competition from within the conservative Wing to allow them to eke out Victory
• 16:30 - 17:00 beginning in 1955 and all the way until 1993 the ldp easily held the reins of government and for decades did so with the illicit support of the CIA meanwhile said U.S intelligence agency infiltrated the opposition meaning the Socialists Communists labor movements and the burgeoning leftist student movements one CIA agent would later remark that preventing gains by Japanese leftists was the most important thing we could do
• 17:00 - 17:30 CIA agents believed the Soviet Union was similarly funding the Japanese opposition the U.S used the Domino Theory of geopolitics to push the belief that if Japan went red so would the whole of Asia Douglas MacArthur II the nephew of the leader of the U.S occupation and ambassador to Japan from 1957 to 1961 said that if Japan went communist it was difficult to see how the rest of Asia would not follow suit Japan assumed an
• 17:30 - 18:00 importance of extraordinary magnitude because there was no other place in Asia from which to project American power the U.S strategy worked in the face of a unified and financially stable conservative front progress made by leftists and liberal candidates on both a national and a local stage was rolled back the ldp shored up Japan's post-war relationship with the United States and made sure the numerous U.S bases throughout the archipelago remained in operation despite local opposition for a
• 18:00 - 18:30 decade leftism in Japan became the purview of student radicals activists and labor unions whose power was often in the streets rather than in the halls of government it was a Pity that that the emphasis was shifted when it was shifted because there was no internal Menace from the Communist Party in Japan whatsoever in 1960 perhaps as
• 18:30 - 19:00 much as a million protesters who opposed the United States Japan security treaty surrounded said Halls of government in Tokyo's national diet building on June 15th the protesters breached the walls of the diet compound itself a pitched battle with Riot police followed one female student kamba Michiko perished a visit from President Eisenhower was canceled and ldp prime minister Kishi nobusuke himself formally imprisoned as a Class A war criminal suspect and
• 19:00 - 19:30 grandfather to recently slain former prime minister Abe Shinzo stepped down from his office Progressive and liberal forces within Japan still had Mass support and organizing power but electoral politics remained Beyond them one major exception however was governor ninagawa of Kyoto elected in 1950 with socialist backing he remained governor of one of Japan's major prefectures for 27 years despite opposition from the
• 19:30 - 20:00 conservative parties ninagawa is still by far the longest serving governor in Kyoto history [Music] it was in 1960 that minor babyokichi entered the public awareness having worked in a numerous professional and advisory offices it was becoming a television personality that truly made him a household name minobe starred in the NHK program yasashi Keizer kyoshitsu
• 20:00 - 20:30 the easy economics classroom he played the father of a fictional version of the minobe family with mizukiranko playing his wife sitting on the living room tatami minove would explicate economic issues to his fictional family in easy to understand ways the show touched on such subjects as minorbe's specialty inflation and also explained kitchen economics and Japan's changing place in the world economy the show ran for two years and minobe's gentle fatherly smile
• 20:30 - 21:00 became beloved across the country the Tokyo of the early post-war decades that was mindobe's home was not one we'd recognized today much Reconstruction had been achieved but there remained massive issues with local infrastructure and poverty hardly anyone in the 23 Wards had access to sewers night soil haulers operated in some ways as they had since the days of Edo neither Tokyo nor Japan as a whole had really stepped back into
• 21:00 - 21:30 the so-called Brotherhood of Nations a plan was hatched to use the Olympics as a venue through which to reintroduce the world to the new peaceful Japan one of the Men Behind these efforts was azumar utaro the head of the Japanese Olympic Committee in 1959 he was elected as the second post-war governor of Tokyo in the words of Edward seiden sticker as if for the specific purpose of presiding over
• 21:30 - 22:00 the Olympics that same year Tokyo won its bid to host the 1964 Summer Olympics and the prefectual government dove headfirst into making Tokyo ready for this Monumental task during the ramp up to the Olympics Japan saw the first hint that left-wing nominees would soon regain a fighting chance with the electorate in 1963 asukata ichio was elected as mayor of Yokohama one of Japan's most important cities asukata
• 22:00 - 22:30 was the founder of the National Association of progressive Mayors whose goal was to elect local level Progressive politicians who would campaign on Promises of increasing quality of life asukata's electoral coup however mostly served to demonstrate the great difficulty Progressive politicians would have upon assuming Executive offices the reason why socialists and Communists could compete in mayoral and gubernatorial elections was because these were first past the post-style
• 22:30 - 23:00 competitions unlike those for the apportioned National Diet once a progressive politician gained such an office however they still had to deal with the city and prefectual councils and organs beneath them usually filled with members associated with the ruling ltp according to Mayor asukata becoming mayor amidst the entrenched conservative governmental structures of Yokohama was like Landing alone on the top of Mount Fuji by Parachute I occupied the summit while the whole of the mountain was in
• 23:00 - 23:30 the hands and time as mayor would still see some success and presaged the oncoming Rush of local Progressive leadership the mood of the nation had changed in the 1960s while the Olympics are remembered as an epical moment for post-war Japan the country would shortly be rocked by a series of scandals all while the youth became increasingly aligned with the left indeed the youthful new left movement was radicalized to such a degree that they broke with the Japanese
• 23:30 - 24:00 Communist Party entirely which they saw as too moderate Scandal would also come for Tokyo's Olympic governor azima and leave the door open for an opposition candidate to eke out victory in the coming elections [Music] Dark Horse [Music] bribery and Corruption have long been
• 24:00 - 24:30 open Secrets within the political landscape of Japan only at times do scandals erupt to a great enough scale to bring down those involved in 1965 the year after the Olympics the Tokyo prefectual Council held an election for their president in which the degree of bribery and intimidation involved were such that they slipped the bonds of everyday corruption and actually entered public discourse the prefectual president himself was arrested among others within the castle and said
• 24:30 - 25:00 Council dissolved this in of itself was enough to put a great dampener on the perception of Governor Azuma it was then that an almost literal biblical plague of flies descended upon Tokyo foreign [Music] Tokyo had a monster-sized trash problem since
• 25:00 - 25:30 1655 in the early Edo era the city's garbage had been disposed of via Reclamation in Edo Bay the area that is now Tokyo's coat award Rose from the sea as the shogunate used trash to form land extensions and man-made Islands Edo was at various times the most populated city in the world however it was only in the 1950s that the rise of mass-produced consumer goods allowed trash to become a true crisis for the city
• 25:30 - 26:00 the Civic battles between different Tokyo Awards those wishing to dispose of their trash elsewhere and those refusing to take on said trash became known as the Tokyo gomi sensor the Tokyo garbage War this was a name that minoba himself would eventually coin under prime minister sato's income doubling policy Japan was moving into a state of rapid industrialization and the disposal of industrial materials dangerous chemicals and the increased output of pollution all combined to create serious public
• 26:00 - 26:30 hygiene issues what landfills there were in the various Wards filled up incineration stations remained few and far between the main method of disposing of garbage returned to landfills in Tokyo bay and the continuous Reclamation of land from the sea the amount of trash was so massive the garbage plants couldn't even begin to handle the load seventy percent of trash was buried without even being treated from 1957 the
• 26:30 - 27:00 full point of the disposal of Tokyo's massive wave of trash became the ironically named yumenoshima the island of Dreams itself a man-made Island in Tokyo Bay by 1965 the island had already seen a mass trash fire Rage across 40 percent of the Island's surface the Japanese media took to calling the island by a derisive name gominoshima the island of trash endless [Music]
• 27:00 - 27:30 then in 1965 the problems at Yumi no Shima began to truly plague the whole of Tokyo it began on July 16th an enormous mass of black flies born from ending gorged on the Island's trash rode a strong southern wind towards the code award mainland from there they Unleashed a blight upon the people of Tokyo they were everywhere students at elementary schools near the Swarm had to carry out fly killing exercises between classes
• 27:30 - 28:00 children were outfitted with fly swatters to wield on walks to and from school efforts by the police and self-defense Force at fly eradication only made matters worse finally the fire brigades and the self-defense Force United to carry out operation yumenoshima scorched Earth they spread chemicals and gasoline over the entirety of the garbage Mounds from which the Flies were emanating then they lit a match Witnesses described an otherworldly
• 28:00 - 28:30 scene firefighters who had devoted their lives to putting out Flames engaged in arson creating a blaze like a nightmare in the middle of the day according once again to sight and sticker Dream Island was for a time a cinder on which not even flies could live in 1967 the local government declared that yuminoshima would officially cease its operations as a trash dump
• 28:30 - 29:00 scandals public unrest and a Biblical plague of flies all United to bring down the ldp Stranglehold on Tokyo government the 1965 prefectual council elections were a media circus indicted former counselors ran for re-election while awaiting their trial dates numerous Yakuza attempted to run for Council seats the conservative Wing lost almost half of its seats and the Socialist Wing emerged as the leading party in a new Coalition conservative majority power in
• 29:00 - 29:30 Tokyo was broken for decades to come after all this Governor Azuma chose not to run for re-election and so the path was opened for an even greater socialist sweep by the time of the 1967 election minoved yokichi was a household name his winning smile and gentle demeanor had especially enamored women in Tokyo who in the post-war years now comprised a major cross-section of the electorate as a
• 29:30 - 30:00 popular public intellectual who just happened to be a Marxist but was also known for his pacifism there could scarcely be a better candidate for the progressive side to put forth the 1967 gubernatorial election would be a showdown between the powerful conservative anti-communist camp and the burgeoning power of the leftists the time had come for a major push from the kakushin reformist Coalition consisting
• 30:00 - 30:30 of both socialist and communist parties their opponents would be the ldp as well as the conservative cometo a party formed just years earlier as the political arm of the powerful new religion the Socialist Communist Party would rely on minobe's gentle smile to help win the day the Communist Party originally preferred yoneharu itaru a major figure in the party and former member of parliament it was the Socialist Party that pushed for minobe who's avowed
• 30:30 - 31:00 Marxism caused the center-left Democratic Socialist Party to with a draw from the progressive Coalition minobe decided to run like many local politicians he did so not as a member of any particular party although the backing of the progressive Wing left little doubt as to his standing amongst the various political blocks his freshness to the Electoral scene and television Fame worked wonders in favor of minobe's appeal he could appear as comparatively non-partisan and
• 31:00 - 31:30 worthy of trust he adopted many of the policy aims of the Socialist Communist Alliance it made them his own personal pledge these became minobes nine promises to fight against inflation to make Japan a place fit for mothers and children to promote education culture and Sport to eliminate Regional differences with Tokyo by planning to provide security for the underprivileged to help Small
• 31:30 - 32:00 industry to use citizens taxes for their own benefit to affect scientific administrative reform to protect local autonomy and preserve peace and Democratic rights these promises were idealistic and perhaps somewhat vague even minobe's own Mentor ouchi worried his campaign was creating an image of minobe as a savior bound to disappoint his supporters but said supporters found aminobi's campaign inspiring they filled the war
• 32:00 - 32:30 chest with funds raised by purchasing some 700 000 circular blue and white blue sky Badges and wore the badges with great pride indeed blue was the representative color of Mino Bay's whole campaign cleaning up Tokyo's rampant pollution and trash was one of his main policies his slogan was bring the Blue Sky to Tokyo Tokyo ni alzurau Flyers were also placed featuring a picture of minobe alongside the popular actress kasiyama fumiere then starring
• 32:30 - 33:00 in the popular NHK drama Ohana Han no sooner would a poster be stapled to a public wall then some fan would tear them down and take them for their own the media began speaking of the famed minobe smile minobe smyuru which continued to endear itself to the Tokyo citizenry minobay both spoke directly to the people calling for direct citizen participation and worked the media landscape as no previous nominee had
• 33:00 - 33:30 academic Alan G Ricks writing around the time said that minobe waged a flamboyantly personal campaign he was Tokyo's first major tarento TV personality political nominee and knew how to use the levers of popular media like no other politician he would be far from the country's last politician to ride TV Fame to a seat of Public Power for good or for ill foreign
• 33:30 - 34:00 the conservative political scientist Matsushita masutoshi Arch rightists from around Japan entered the ring in their Crusade against the Marxist minorbe Ultra nationalist akaobin stood for his greater Japan Patriotic Party members of which had previously murdered Socialist Party leaders perennial anti-communist election hopeful fusasaku sejiro also
• 34:00 - 34:30 made an attempt losing in the election as he did in all 23 he entered during a decade and a half years in an attempt to enter politics a former reporter named nonogami takitoshi a close friend of minobe's main competition Matsushita attempted to run as a spoiler the election committee vetoed his petition to run under the nickname minobe using a more common kanji spelling of minor yokichi's own name despite the extreme dip in The public's
• 34:30 - 35:00 opinion of the conservatives the election was a remarkably close thing nearly 5 million votes were cast with the vast majority of being either for minove or Matsushita in the end minobe was Victorious but his victory came by only 130 000 votes more than his main opponent homato gained over 600 000 votes so if the Soka gakai voters had gone instead for Matsushita minobe would have lost close to the victory was it represented
• 35:00 - 35:30 an incredible and historic shift in Tokyo politics never before had the great capital of Japan been presided over by any politician from the leftist camp with the Socialist leading prefectual Council still in place minobe even possessed something of a political mandate and across the archipelago in Osaka Kagawa fukui iwate shimane and more Progressive politicians rode a wave of public support into gubernatorial office by 1975 more than
• 35:30 - 36:00 20 percent of Japanese mayor ships and 10 of the 47 prefectual governorships were held by leftist politicians Tokyo's and in some sense Japan's local socialist period had begun minobe entered his tenure as a governor of Tokyo on the back of a certain watchword kaiwa dialogue which would later be joined by a second Sanka participation previous Governors had run the prefecture from behind the Steely walls of bureaucracy minobe conversely
• 36:00 - 36:30 promised that citizens would always have a voice within government to this end he held the first taiwashukai dialogue assembly in July of 1967. inviting citizens in katsushika were to come discuss issues with him soon there were offices set up to allow citizens a pathway to expressing concerns to the government he immediately put plans into motion to rationalize the morass of Tokyo government he promised to do away with the red tape and circular decision-making structures that
• 36:30 - 37:00 dominated the gigantic prefectual bureaucracy Japan remains a country with a shocking amount of red tape and the fact that minobi largely succeeded in making governance more straightforward shows just how much worse bureaucratic roadblocks once actually were one of minobe's first demonstrations of his intent to write perceived social wrongs was revoking prefectual funding for gambling institutions previously Tokyo had funded bicycle horse boat and auto racing venues existing primarily
• 37:00 - 37:30 for the purposes of gambling once the prefecture pulled out many major gambling establishments were forced to shudder the Tokyo City keba racehorse track in the shinagawa is one such gambling institution that continues to operate on Municipal funding to this day
• 37:30 - 38:00 gambling certainly did not disappear from Tokyo but minobai did at least fulfill his promise of disentangling the prefectual government from its operations in 1970 the band Salty sugar released a horse racing theme single called hashide kotaro the jocular song went on to be a Mainstay of the horse race circuits and even included a section of spoken narration by singer Yamamoto kotaro in which he imitates Mino base speech patterns poking fun at the governor's opposition to public
• 38:00 - 38:30 gambling Institution take a listen [Music] um [Applause] [Music]
• 38:30 - 39:00 foreign [Applause] [Laughter] launched one of his most popular and
• 39:00 - 39:30 successful policies under his Direction the prefectural government promised to cover all medical expenses for the elderly the ambitious program was opposed by the ruling National ldp who disparaged it as a policy of giving water to a withered tree sucker the ldp-controlled Ministry of Health and Welfare claimed that the taking on of personal medical expenses by government is in violation of the health
• 39:30 - 40:00 insurance act and managed to get mino-based policy delayed but the governor stood his ground challenging the Declaration of the ministry he won out and the statement was retracted Tokyo citizens over the age of 70 would have medical expenses paid by the prefecture opposition to the popular health care plan had detrimental effects on local elections for the ldp Prime Minister Tanaka kakue seeing the way the winds were blowing relented his cabinet would go on to declare 1973 the first
• 40:00 - 40:30 year of social welfare fukushi gun then appropriating the opposition's success by implementing total National coverage for health care costs for the elderly this has actually been a common tactic by the ldp while certainly conservative they can only manage to maintain continuative power by taking on popular Progressive policies from from the opposition in July of the same year minobe did the national government won better reducing the age for free health care in Tokyo 265. he also managed to
• 40:30 - 41:00 make much of Tokyo's public transit free for the same age bracket minova's healthcare plan was a major coup and helped gain him immense popularity in Tokyo critics would complain that hypochondriac seniors were crowding hospitals taking advantage of the free care nonetheless this was the start of a long line of national policies aimed at reducing the burdens on the lives of Japan's Elders he also extended an enlarged safety net by providing services for the disabled and endowments for children
• 41:00 - 41:30 from 1969 minobe shifted his Focus to even grander designs conceptualizing the scientific role government would play in eradicating Social ills and environmental issues on October 26 1970 minobe's government opened Japan's first ever local level Environmental Protection Bureau this came during a period when pollution from industry was only getting worse yet both national and local governments had almost no institutions in place to track environmental damage much less deal with it he also instituted a system of civil
• 41:30 - 42:00 Minima tracking the minimum facilities necessary to deal with the needs of Tokyo citizens in each Urban locality 1970 was also the year that minobe orchestrated the opening of Tokyo's first pedestrian Heavens where in popular areas of the city were temporarily shut to Automotive traffic and the streets were given over to citizenry on foot these were seen as a way to combat the rapid rise in pedestrian deaths from car accidents minorbe was also generally opposed
• 42:00 - 42:30 closed captioning not available [Music] [Music] [Music]
• 42:30 - 43:00 [Music] [Music] [Music] 1971 saw minorbe rise to his first
• 43:00 - 43:30 electoral challenge since assuming office this time around he gained support from parties beyond the Socialist Communist Alliance both the religious conservative cometo and center-left Democratic Socialist Party saw a chance to Hitch their wagon to Mino base star and join a ruling Coalition against the ldp their rallying cry was the tortured English phrase stop the Sato stopuza Sato referring to prime minister Sato and his support for the
• 43:30 - 44:00 United States actions in the Vietnam War the ultra nationalist akau Bean attempted to run against minorbe once again while campaigning akao made such statements as minorbe should just die middle and he'll end up just like asanuma asanumanon referring to the 1960 assassination of Socialist Party chairman asanuma inejiro
• 44:00 - 44:30 by a short sword wielding 17 year old member of alcohol's political party after making these statements akka was subsequently placed under arrest he would go on to receive only slightly more than 10 000 votes the 1971 gubernatorial election featured the highest turnout of any in Tokyo's history at 72.36 of the electorate the record remains unbroken to this day minobay gave his main opposition a
• 44:30 - 45:00 police bureaucrat backed by the ldp a sound thrashing taking home 64.77 percent of the total vote to his opponents 34.68 minobe had won a convincing Victory and emerged even more capable of taking on the problems he felt Afflicted the people of Tokyo in the 1960s and 70s as now they remained great suspicion towards the communist countries of China and North Korea within Japan itself large minority
• 45:00 - 45:30 populations of ethnic Koreans and Chinese remained from the colonial Imperial period these minorities were often treated poorly and remained the subject of great disdain minobe however was interested in bettering Japan's relationship with both countries and the ethnic minorities within his own prefecture this generated a great deal of consternation from anti-communists who saminobe is giving preferential treatment to Japan's erstwhile enemies to this day there are those on the far
• 45:30 - 46:00 right who view minnow Bay as a communist traitor perhaps minobe's single most significant contribution to Japan's Foreign Relations came in October of 1971. in that month minobe became the first and so far only Japanese Governor to visit the so-called hermit Kingdom with permission from Japan's central government minobe met with Kim il-sung founder and dictatorial leader of North Korea the two enjoyed each other's company discussing possible trade
• 46:00 - 46:30 agreements that could be signed between their respective countries at the time North Korea remained more economically stable and possessed a higher standard of living than the South which was still under its own chaotic and repressive government with the north not quite yet the Pariah state it would come to be the Japanese central government looked upon minobe's visit to North Korea as a success the Japanese diet set up a league for promotion of Friendship with North Korea
• 46:30 - 47:00 and move towards the signing of trade agreements in fact minobe had already acted to grant funding to schools for ethnic Koreans whose families hailed from the area that was now under the jurisdiction of North Korea these schools have since been criticized as propaganda Machines of the North Korean State acting within Japan the Nationalist sankai shimbun newspaper would later assert that the funding of such schools was a quote-unquote gift minobe brought Kim il-sung for allowing
• 47:00 - 47:30 the meeting to take place in 2016 the sanke further published articles claiming minobe had told Kim of his desire to emulate North Korea and bring forth a Communist Revolution in Japan even if so minobi never went so far as to act in any especially revolutionary manner with in his own country nor did the Japanese Communist Party itself which surprisingly unrevolutionary has remained dedicated to creating change from within the extant Japanese
• 47:30 - 48:00 political system mino-based foreign politicking did not end in Pyongyang the next month he made his way to Beijing the capital of the People's Republic of China he had been tasked by the central government with yet another important diplomatic task this time he went bearing a secret letter meant only for the eyes of the CCP leadership the United States had recently reversed course on the recognition of Taiwan as the legitimate government of China and the ldp had a
• 48:00 - 48:30 mind to follow suit who better to approach communist China than Japan's very own socialist Governor Mino Bay handed the secret missive over two Chinese Premier Zhou and Lai yet no matter how truthful the ldp had been in its desire to abandon Taiwan in favor of the CCP Joe was not buying it it must be a trick who would believe such a thing he was to say he returned the letter to minobe who in turn returned to Japan
• 48:30 - 49:00 normalization of sino-japanese relations would have to wait on until 1972. minobe would go on to make a more lasting connection between Tokyo and Beijing but that would have to wait until later in his tenure as governor in his second term minobe continued to lead the way in Japan's halting shift towards environmental awareness part of this was laying the groundwork for prefectual policies of environmental preservation in large part however it involved launching his own personal war
• 49:00 - 49:30 against Tokyo's overwhelming problem with garbage on September 28 1971 minobe gave a speech at the Tokyo Metropolitan assembly stating that the prefectual government would launch an all-out attack on trash he stated that garbage represented so dire a problem for Tokyo that he would stake his political life on solving it the issue here remained the internecine battles being waged between the various Wards when it came to whom should bear the burden of garbage disposal the wards of Tokyo were
• 49:30 - 50:00 generating a massive 12 000 tons of garbage per day three times the trash output of the previous decade despite the population only having grown by a mere 20th in that time yet nine of the 23 Wards had no garbage disposal facilities at all and poor Awards in the East continued to Bear the burdens of the wealthier awards to the West Koto Ward home to yuminoshima was still the most beset by this problem each day 5
• 50:00 - 50:30 000 garbage trucks made their way through the congested streets of Cote award entering from more financially privileged Wards like tsugidami and meguro minobe announced a policy of finally having each ward of Tokyo take care of its own refuse in particular there was to be a shift towards the combustion of trash this would prevent the outbreak of vermin like the Flies of 65 or disease residential tsunami Ward however had already rejected a plan to
• 50:30 - 51:00 build a high-tech new combustion facility in the wealthy takaido District in the last years of minove's predecessor's Reign this only further enraged the residents of poor Koto Ward the ward council announcing in 1971 that they would begin to prevent entry into their municipality by tsugunami garbage trucks using Force if need be this threat was no Idol one this was an era of physical political violence thousands of new left protesters were
• 51:00 - 51:30 constantly battling Riot police in the streets of Tokyo that award might physically challenge another was unprecedented but not out of the question minobe promised he would solve the problem but also ensured tsuginami Ward that he would do so via taiwa the Democratic discussions he had so touted during his campaigns there would be no ex-procreation he said yet despite assembling a team of academics scientists urban planners and more no better site could be found in tsuginami
• 51:30 - 52:00 than the one in takaido the local resistance in takaido was said to have been a constructed one mainly led by a wealthy conservative landowner and ldp allies perhaps looking to withhold another Victory from minobe protesters held placards to cry minobe as attempting a nationalization of land which of course is an old Canard used against the Communists however the truth however the governor had overestimated the possibility of real cooperation between the wards and their
• 52:00 - 52:30 constituencies tsuginami outright right refused to allow a plant to be built in takaido and Koto again threatened Force against tsugudami's garbage trucks by November 1973 minobe had had enough he recanted on his promise of democratic debate and instead ordered the expropriation of the takaido land for the greater good of Tokyo this was during the same era in which thousands of young protesters were waging physical battles on the countryside of Cheaper
• 52:30 - 53:00 prefecture in order to stop the national government from expropriating Farmers lands for the building of Narita Airport that minorbe the most prominent leftist in office would use similar tactics to the state was seen as a betrayal of principle nonetheless the Hokkaido land owners accepted the payments offered to them and sold the land the garbage problem was greatly alleviated by 1977 90 of Tokyo garbage was being combusted rather than buried success was achieved but perhaps at an ideological cost
• 53:00 - 53:30 in 1973 Japan became a primary target of the OPEC oil embargoes led by Saudi Arabia in response to the support of Israel during the ongoing Yom Kippur War the price of petroleum tripled world economies went into a tailspin Japan was hit especially hard as 90 percent of its oil imports came from the Middle East the incredible economic gains seen since the 1950s sputtered in Tokyo minobe's
• 53:30 - 54:00 Progressive policies had run up the largest red Ledger in prefectual history up to that point many of his hope for policies would have to be scaled back in 1975 he ran for a third term in the face of his continued support from the citizens of Tokyo some ldp members even suggested aligning their party alongside him rather than engaging in a competition they could not win other Tokyo ldp leaders considered running a center-left candidate but the National
• 54:00 - 54:30 Party leadership shot the idea down the ldp-backed nominee would be one ishihara shintaro the name may be familiar ishihara was as far from Center left as an ldp politician could be he's now widely known as an extreme ultranationalist Infamous for his misogynistic and xenophobic views he was also of course an ardent anti-communists the nomination of ishihara shocked those in the Socialist and communist parties their longtime Alliance had been
• 54:30 - 55:00 suffering of late breaking down over debates regarding how to approach the issue of discrimination against the burakumin underclass with some finding Mino Bay increasingly Centrist they'd considered dropping their backing of him for re-election despite his strong electoral standing yet the nomination of the ultra nationalist ishihara pointed to the danger of abandoning their governor under the slogan we will not hand Tokyo's government to the fascists
• 55:00 - 55:30 they reversed course allying with cometo the Progressive Party Support was once again masked behind minopay ishihara himself had some wind at his back both from his famous and awarded author and is a younger voice in the ltp at 42 years old to his opponent minobes August 71 years yet as has generally been his style he managed to arouse great criticism via his unadorned remarks on the campaign Trail one comment led to
• 55:30 - 56:00 particular anger don't you think it's about time to switch out the old for the new has in the age of leaving politics to the senior citizens in their 60s and 70s with their deteriorated frontal lobes just about passed minobai remained a respected figure and one who had done much for the elderly of Tokyo and Japan as a whole ishihara's comments were not taken lightly the election became highly polarized between right and left both minobe and ishihara presented as charismatic public figures
• 56:00 - 56:30 both capable of influencing media coverage and public opinion although their ideological stances or worlds apart yet in the end minobe again emerged Victorious this one had been closer he'd won by only seven percent of the vote yet one he had and ishihara would have to wait decades in order to finally take the reins of government within Tokyo in 1999 he'd drive a wave of controversial populism to become Tokyo's new governor ishihara would hold
• 56:30 - 57:00 a grudge against minobe and his politics for his entire life Amino by ryokichi continued his popular leadership in Tokyo until 1979 at which time at the age of 75 he announced he would not seek re-election this wasn't following with his predecessors none of whom had sought more than three terms during those final four years Governor minobe continued to enact policies that would shape Tokyo into the future one of his last actions as governor was to
• 57:00 - 57:30 formalize a sister city relationship between Tokyo and Beijing despite the rocky relationship between the two great Asian Powers the sister city relationship would be maintained by binube's conservative successors however the strained financials of the post-oil shock put a major dampener on the domestic side of things minobi attempted to short the professional government's Revenue by instigating new taxes but the ministry of Home Affairs put a halt to his plans minobe again stood up to the central
• 57:30 - 58:00 government but failed to push through the deadlock he was left with a comparatively disempowered Tokyo bureaucracy and remained unable to fulfill some of his greater plans so like the vast majority of high-minded politicians Governor Mino base tenure was one of success and failure he changed a great many things for Tokyo from environmental policies to the expansion of the social safety net Japan has gone on to be a fairly strong welfare state which is indeed something
• 58:00 - 58:30 minorbe would have wished for the country at the same time the power of the Socialist and communist parties in prefectual government diminished over his years in control he found himself having to compromise on his values to achieve his bigger picture goals government in Tokyo became more transparent and open to the average citizen under his tenure but practical concerns meant the ideals of taiwa and Sanka had faded into the background by his third term so too had much of his leftist credentials with many
• 58:30 - 59:00 proclaiming that in practice he was no true Marxist Mino base flexible utopian socialism never quite went far enough for many of the died and the wool leftists on the ground the end of minovi's tenure meant the end of the Coalition which had helped keep the progressives in power comato had previously worked alongside minobe based on his appeal as a popular incumbent this time they switched to supporting the mainline conservative nominee backed
• 59:00 - 59:30 by the ldp Suzuki shunichi meanwhile the Socialist Communist Alliance put forth labor activist otakauru as successor to minove Suzuki ran on a platform of rolling back the overspending of the minove years mocking the outgoing governor for his pork barrel welfare policies the election also saw the first openly gay nominee in Japanese gubernatorial history social activists Togo Ken all this was occurring amidst blowback from the major Lockheed Scandal that rocked Japanese government with the
• 59:30 - 60:00 major social movements of the 1960s fading replaced by the political apathy of the 1970s and 80s turnout crumbled only 55.16 of eligible voters turned out a decrease of 12.30 from the previous election Suzuki and the ldp coasted back into power in Tokyo on the back of their reliable voting base combined with cometo's religiously minded followers Tokyo's socialist era had ended
• 60:00 - 60:30 minobe had left the Tokyo Metropolitan government building behind him and watched on as Governor Suzuki instigated more conservative policies for Tokyo [Music] [Applause] um [Music] [Applause] Ichi was not done with politics even at his Advanced age in 1980 he ran for a
• 60:30 - 61:00 seat in the National legislature with Socialist Party packing and he won he joined up with various other leftists and unaligned lawmakers and continued to press for Progressive policies at an even higher level his health however was beginning to fail him in December of 1984 while still serving his term in office he passed away from a heart attack while working in his home study he was 80 years old by the time you know it passed Japan was
• 61:00 - 61:30 recovered from two oil shocks and was now sitting on the edge of its final rocket into the financial Stratosphere with the 1980s bubble era only five years later Emperor Hirohito would also pass and the showa era would be replaced with the new Heise era for Tokyo and for Japan it was truly a world removed from the heady revolutionary days of the 1960s foreign oh
• 61:30 - 62:00 and even further removed from the time of deprivation and war that minobe and his father had lived through and had suffered since Mino base tenure the administration based out of the New Tokyo Metropolitan government building has been conservative more often than not from 1999 to 2012 minobe's controversial former rival ishihara shintaro held the Reigns of power initiating various attempts at privatization and revoking the prefecture's support for North Korea
• 62:00 - 62:30 aligned schools yet the effects of minobe's tenure remain from environmental agencies to the normalization of Public Welfare he shifted the discourse on Japanese politics opening up more of a space for average people and demonstrated the power of the female electorate despite all of this Japan would only elect its first female mayor in 1991 many years after minobe's death minnoway led a wave of progressives into Power throughout Japan and although the
• 62:30 - 63:00 waves subsided opposition politicians continue to win local seats to this day while the Socialist Party has lost significance the Japanese Communist Party Remains the most popular non-ruling Communist party in Asia leftists from Tokyo won re-election to the National legislature just this year Governor minobe's decade plus of popular leadership in Tokyo shows the country has been far more diverse in its political leanings than is generally described both internally and externally
• 63:00 - 63:30 just where Japan's changing electorate will take it into the future remains anyone's guess who knows perhaps someday another flexible utopian will lead Tokyo from Atop The Metropolitan building looking out towards Shinjuku and even Beyond foreign [Music] [Music]
• 63:30 - 64:00 thanks for watching this fairly extensive video I was happy when our patrons picked this topic it was one I'd wanted to cover I hadn't realized at the time that it would end up being the longest single essay I've ever ridden for unseen Japan and would also become our longest historical essay here on YouTube so far crying Freeman doesn't really count glad I could finally complete it there was so much I learned about Tokyo the city I currently call
• 64:00 - 64:30 home thanks to working on it I'll certainly never look at a prefectual incineration plant smokestack the same way again each one feels like a legacy of minobe also want to give a shout out to my friend and frequent UJ art contributor illuminabi for doing the audio editing on this one which really made my life easier plus the audio quality is so much better than what I usually produce other than this clip right now which of course I did the audio editing for this is my first time
• 64:30 - 65:00 to have someone else do part of the editing for one these videos for unseen Japan and uh I will say it was a nice thing to do a little bit of collaboration as always if you enjoyed this video give us a like And subscribe for more and lend us a bit of Support over at patreon so you can join in our next topic poll also feel free to jump on our Discord if you want to discuss this and other topics related to Japan be seeing you all soon
• 65:00 - 65:30 foreign