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On August 15, DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama held a press conference in Nagaoka City in Niigata prefecture. He announced that member of the House of Councillors Naoki Tanaka and member of the House of Representatives Makiko Tanaka would join the DPJ, and that Makiko Tanaka would run as the official DPJ candidate in Niigata No. 5 constituency.
Hatoyama said, “Today I have some very good news to announce. Member of the House of Representatives Makiko Tanaka and member of the House of Councillors Naoki Tanaka have decided to join the DPJ together.” He went on to explain the circumstances regarding this decision and said that he warmly welcomed them to the party.
Makiko Tanaka said, “I have served for 7 years as an independent candidate, in order to fulfil my own expectations and those of my supporters.” She pointed out, “It is possible to form a small political party in order to carry out pledges made to the electorate, but those promises cannot be realised by one individual or a small number of people…I had the strong sense that I had to be within an organisation in order to realise the pledges I had made to the electorate and my own philosophy as a politician.”
Hatoyama was asked a question about the DPJ candidates running in Niigata prefecture, to which he replied, “We have created a structure so that our candidates are capable of winning in all six single-seat constituencies.” He added, “Of course, one’s greatest enemy in an election is complacency” stressing that while the addition of the two would add strength to the DPJ in Niigata, it should not cause the DPJ candidates there to let down their guard.
With the additional of Makiko Tanaka, the DPJ’s official candidates now number 271 (incumbent Diet members: 111, former Diet members: 45, of which 238 candidates are men and 33 are women), and recommended candidates are now 24.
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