Unwanted election of the "White Tower"

Unwanted elections of the "White Tower" 10:02 on July 3rd

Although the declaration of emergency was lifted, it was confirmed in June that new people were newly infected with the new coronavirus. The doctors were struggling in another battle.
Presidential election of "Japan Medical Association".
The one-on-one election battle between the current chairman and the vice-chairman who has been supporting it has become a fierce battle with increasing intensity day by day. Why do you fight so much at this time?
We will report all the details of the Gachinko election that took place in the "White Tower".
(Politics Department, Tomoyo Koizumi)

The power of the "Japan Medical Association"

The "Japan Medical Association" is a public interest incorporated association with approximately 170,000 medical and medical practitioners nationwide. It has a history of more than 100 years, counting from its predecessor, the “Dainippon Medical Association”, which was established in 1925.

Its influence extends not only to the medical industry but also to politics.

The Medical Association of Japan, a political organization of the medical association, has donated an estimated 500 million yen to the ruling and opposition parties, mainly in the LDP. In addition, the LDP has sent two members of parliament, which the organization has fully supported.

Literally, it is one of the representative "industry groups" in Japan.

“Long-term stable government”

Yoshitake Yokokura (75 years old) who has served as the top chairman for four years from 2012 to 2012. In addition to serving as the president of a hospital in Fukuoka prefecture and serving as the chairman of the local secretary-general of Makoto Koga, former president of the LDP, he has also been in close contact with Deputy Prime Minister Aso and has built a strong pipe with the political world.

Prime Minister Abe, who came back to the top of the government about nine months after assuming office as chairman, was a friend of the old wisdom, and in important situations such as revision of medical treatment fee, he met the request of the medical association, such as holding a direct talk. I've been working hard. In the presidential elections from the second term onwards, they won without votes or with wide margins, and their stable performance was described as "comparable to the Abe administration."

Election in this situation!?

The presidential election is held every two years. This time, the schedule was announced with the announcement on June 1st and the vote on 27th.

The spread of the new coronavirus infection that occurred while attention was focused on Yokokura's employment. The medical association was busy dealing with the new Corona. He frequently complained about the tight medical situation in various places every day by holding press conferences. It also urged the government to promptly issue an "emergency declaration."

In addition, there were complaints from various medical institutions in each region that they needed to take prompt measures against the serious effects of the spread of the infection. Management deteriorated rapidly due to a large decrease in outpatients and the number of surgery. Doctors in the field, who treat infected patients, were approaching their limits due to overwork and extreme stress.

"If the doctor is currently in an election!?" The

schedule was temporarily postponed even within the medical association. Was considered. However, when there was no prospect of convergence, we decided to do it as planned, because we do not know when it will be possible.

If so, "Avoid elections and settle without voting." The atmosphere that I wanted so far spread.

Man of 10 years prostitution

Against this backdrop, Vice Chairman Toshio Nakagawa (69 years old), who had been motivated by "Post Yokokura" for a long time, moved ahead.

Nakagawa, the president of a hospital in Hokkaido, is known as a sharp-spoken policymaker, and has been holding open discussions with the government. Vice Chairman 10 years. It was a long-cherished desire to be chairman.

Having talked with Yokokura himself and confirming that there was no candidate for Yokokura this time, Nakagawa proceeded with the negotiations for the candidate, assuming that he would be the new chairman without a vote.

To election campaigns that nobody wants

However, the situation shows a completely different development from Nakagawa.

Yokokura was once determined to leave the company for the current term, based on the firm intention of Nakagawa's candidacy and the idea that "the medical association should be seen as an intimidating person under Coronal Evil". Was leaning to.

On May 28, just before the public announcement, it was reported in part that "Yokokura was willing to retire, and Nakagawa would be the successor." After this, Yokokura's mobile phones were repeatedly filled with phone calls and e-mails from the medical association, Nagata-cho, Kasumigaseki, and other parties seeking conversion.

“Please refrain from going forward and backward for a while. I'm lost.”
Late evening on the 29th, an email from Yokokura arrived at me. Yokokura's chest seemed to shake greatly when he learned that he was wary of Nakagawa within the ruling party.

Two days later, on the 31st day before the announcement of the presidential election, the email was received again.
“I will challenge the presidential election again,”

Nakagawa did not hide his regret at the press conference, in response to Yokokura's intentions.
"Chairman Yokokura asked me directly about two times, saying, "I will get off this time. I'll leave it to you." I waited for two years. Vice-chairman's tenth year, when the turn comes I've worked hard."

The election campaign in the Corona Whirlpool has begun without anyone wishing for it.

The biggest voter is...

The presidential election is conducted by voting by "delegates" selected by the medical associations of each prefecture according to the number of members. The number of delegates this time is 372. The election campaign in which the votes were contested became a fierce battle for the chief and lawmakers.

The leader was Nakagawa, who had been preparing well.

On June 7, 10 prefectural doctors, including local Hokkaido, held a press conference in Tokyo alongside Nakagawa and expressed their support for Nakagawa.

At that time, the government demanded that they refrain from moving to Tokyo, and even during the period when Tokyo had its own “Tokyo Alert”. Nakagawa said, "Although we recognize the criticism, it is a final decision considering various situations."

The powerful reinforcement of Nakagawa was Haruo Ozaki, chairman of the Tokyo Medical Association, the largest voter. Oozaki, who had been aiming for Yokokura's opponent to "give way to the next step" at a time, arrived at Nakagawa.

Ozaki emphasized, "Looking at the progress of this period, justice lies with Dr. Nakagawa. It will take a few years for Corona to end. It is important to unite a new medical association."

The Yokokura camp also said, "Nakakawa argued to Ozaki, "I will do only one term and the next chairman will yield to you.""

Desperate reversal

The Yokokura camp has become late.
"We shouldn't change the top in an emergency."
"If the system changes, the relationship with the ruling government will be difficult
."

I got support from the doctors in Osaka and Aichi, which have the most votes next to Tokyo, but within the camp, I read that the votes hadn't reached Nakagawa yet. Initially, I was aiming for an election campaign to "avoid crowding of people", but on June 14, I had to open an office and take measures to gather nearly 100 executives from all over the country. ..

Nagata Town moves

"Mr. Yokokura, isn't it dangerous?"
Observations of "Yokokura's inferiority" were circulating in the ruling party.

Immediately moved was the secretary-general of the second floor of the LDP. Hurry up, set up a dialogue with Yokokura and posted it in the LDP's magazine.

The title is "Reconfirm the cooperation between politics and the medical community." From the secretary-in-chief himself, it became a form to launch Yokokura support inside and outside the party.

Furthermore, two days before the voting day, a meeting was held with Yokokura and Abe at the Prime Minister's official residence.

After the interview, Yokokura explained to the reporters:
“I asked one of my current chairs that they had to ask for a grant to protect their future community health care,”
he continued.
"The Prime Minister said, "Please do your best" again."

On the other hand, within the Liberal Democratic Party, some members of the local medical association appeared to perform a “telephone operation”.
"The ○○ Medical Association was compiled by Chairman Yokokura."
"△△ The Medical Association supports Hidden Nakagawa."
Is it noisy to hear blood when he hears "Election"? Each brought his own analysis of the situation.

One of the ministers leaked:
"The presidential election of the medical association is anything because public office election law does not apply."

"To the medical association that can be said to be NO"

In response to this move, the Nakagawa camp strengthened criticism of the Yokokura system.

Nakagawa sarcasticly said, "I want to find a proper sense of distance with bureaucrats and politicians, interact with each other without fail, and have the strength to say NO in times of emergency."
“It's a medical doctor's association that's very easy to understand. It's not the fact that you can talk on the phone or meet immediately with the administration, but the conscientiousness of the Japan Medical Association is to convince yourself.” There was also a camp executive who strengthened his mood.

Furthermore, the point of criticism was toward the movement of the LDP.
"The LDP parliamentarians are individually calling the teachers of the local prefectural medical associations. There should be no political intervention in the private sector.

" As the day got stronger, Yokokura's expression was also tired.
"Time can't be rewound."
Yokokura muttered, looking up to the sky in the elevator at the headquarters of the LDP.

17 votes

On June 27, 371 of the voting delegates, excluding the one absent, gathered at the Japan Medical Center in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo.
And I cast one vote based on the intention of my medical association and my thoughts.

Then, after 11:00 am, the result of the voting was read aloud.
"Toshio Nakagawa 191 votes, Yoshitake Yokokura 174 votes"

was selected by Nakagawa. It won a close battle with 17 votes. Nakagawa, who stood at the greeting, apologized to the doctors in the field for the fierce election campaign, even though he was even angry.
"Without the end of the new coronavirus infection, all of these violent elections are at the expense of my immorality. I'm sorry to say again."

In addition, he said, "From now on, we will have to work side by side in a united way to overcome the current difficulties. To protect the health and life of the people, we will never lose any pressure and transform into a new Japanese Medical Association. I want to continue."

Yokokura on the other hand. At the debriefing session after the election, he spoke to the supporters who gathered with a smile.
“I don't want the medical association to break now. I hope all of you will cooperate with Nakagawa Executive Department. The most important thing is what can be done for medical care to protect the life and health of the people living in the area. I want you to join hands."

Two challenges await

Nakagawa, who defeated Yokokura, who has built a “long-term stable government”, is facing two major challenges for the time being.

First, it is an urgent task to put together a medical association and support the medical field that confronts the Coronal Evil.

The fierce election campaign flew to mysterious documents, causing considerable cracks within the medical association. Immediately after being elected, Nakagawa prepared a new post called "Honorary Chairman" in Yokokura and requested him to take office.

Is it possible to get cooperation from the Yokokura camp and put them together into a monolith? The new system of Nakagawa will be queried immediately so that the election campaign that lasted for nearly a month will not be pointed out that "it has been given priority over the support of the exhausted medical field" in the future.

And another issue is the relationship with the ruling party.

In response to Nakagawa, who has said "I will meet each other without exception," the government ruling party said, "Mr. Nakagawa has few pipes with the political world. First of all, it's a good idea."

Attention is focused on what kind of relationship they will build in order to realize the policy, but as far as Nakagawa's post-election press conference is heard, it seems unlikely that he will change his mind.
"Of course, I want to support the LDP, which is the ruling party of the government, but I also want to think about what kind of case and in what situation I will make it. I want to express clearly what is difficult to say to the government and urge various things."

Nakagawa wants to formulate a policy for the medical association by valuing the voices of the local medical field and the voices of patients. I would like to pay attention to what kind of "Nakagawa color" is drawn.

Fortune-telling future politics! ?

"It is said that the election of the doctor chairman will tell the political situation after that," said a
person with experience as a minister of the LDP.

Yokokura's predecessor, Katsuyuki Haranaka, who was the 18th chairman, was elected after appealing for his support after the Democratic Party was born, but in the next election aimed at re-election at the end of the administration, "We should build a relationship with the LDP." Losed before Yokokura who claimed.

Following the defeat of Yokokura, a ministry official said:
"It is no exaggeration to say that Mr. Yokokura was thought to be closer to "Prime Minister Abe" than "Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Finance." Not only those who think it is good to be close to Prime Minister Abe. it's "that was

his term as LDP president of Abe, remaining one year and three months. House of Representatives elections will be held by October next year.
What kind of future is the future of this presidential election for doctors?
(Honorific title omitted)