TOKYO — The ruling Liberal Democratic Party placed women, including Satsuki Katayama, Makiko Fujino and Yukari Sato, at the top of its proportional representation lists unveiled Monday in seven of the 11 blocks for the upcoming general election.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has told his party to give top places on the lists to women as part of his drive to pit high-profile female candidates against rebel party members who voted against the bills to privatize Japan Post — the centerpiece of his reform agenda.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.