Disability Activist Loses Race for Parliament Seat
By Kay Schriner
Disability rights activist Keiko Higuchi ran up against political apathy and a media overly enamored with celebrity candidates in her unsuccessful bid for a seat in the Japanese Diet, and now is taking some time "to recover from the tough campaigning," according to campaign aid, Osamu Nagase.
Campaigning on issues important to people with disabilities such as integration and inclusion, Higuchi found herself contending with a political climate in which a celebrity-obsessed media controls the way a candidate is presented to the public. To make matters worse, Higuchi had to battle widespread indifference to people with disabilities and the issues that matter most to them. Campaigns in Japan occur during an intense two-week period in the heat of the summer, and crowds seemed to gather only for the most well-known candidates.
Candidates with support from national organizations with well-organized networks of communication and political influence are most likely to be successful, and while Higuchi has long been involved in the disability rights movement in Japan, her campaign could not rely on established groups such as labor unions for help.
But the campaign was important despite the fact that Higuchi lost. Her campaign workers included many people with disabilities, many of whom are young. For most, it was their first political campaign. The campaign workers learned the ins-and-outs of the campaign process, and according to one observer, could teach other politicians a thing or two about assembling a campaign staff that is caring and harmonious.
Higuchi was elected to the Machida City Assembly in 1994, the first disabled woman to hold such a position. She also established the Japan Council on Independent Living Centers, and was appointed by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labor to the Committee on Care Management for Persons with Disabilities. According to Nagase, she now is "taking time to think" about whether she will run for elected office again.
For more on Higuchi's candidacy, go to http://www.asahi.com/english/weekend/K2001080500154.html and http://www.asahi.com/english/weekend/K2001080500159.html.
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