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When voters in Tokyo cast their ballot for governor of the world\u2019s largest city on Sunday, they will be spoiled for choice.<\/p>\n
Fifty-six candidates are contending for the office, a record. One who styles himself \u201cthe Joker\u201d has proposed legalizing marijuana and says polygamy can address the nation\u2019s declining birthrate. Another is a pro wrestler who hides his face on camera and vows to use artificial intelligence to complete governmental tasks. There\u2019s a 96-year-old inventor who says he will deploy gas-fueled cars that do not emit carbon, and a 31-year-old entrepreneur who took off her shirt during a campaign video and promised \u201cfun things.\u201d<\/p>\n
It might look like democracy run amok. But in fact, the race is profoundly status quo and the incumbent is projected to win a third term.<\/p>\n
The proliferation of candidates reflects fatigue with politics as usual, and many of them are unserious attention seekers, creating a farcical, circuslike atmosphere and putting real change further out of reach.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI wonder if this is democracy in action, or whether it\u2019s like an \u2018up yours\u2019 to democracy,\u201d said Emma Dalton, a senior lecturer in Japanese Studies at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. Multiple candidates have criticized the incumbent, Yuriko Koike<\/a>, \u201cin the most vulgar way,\u201d said Ms. Dalton. \u201cBecause they know she\u2019s going to win.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Tokyo election is emblematic of Japanese politics<\/a>, where at the national level the Liberal Democratic Party has governed for all but four years since 1955. The party, which is backing Ms. Koike, has held an iron grip on Japan\u2019s Parliament, despite numerous scandals and widespread voter dissatisfaction that is expressed in polls but rarely at the ballot box.<\/p>\n Ms. Koike, 71, has been dogged by questions about her university credentials and has refused to address accusations that she is connected to a large real estate developer involved in several controversial projects. But just as the Liberal Democrats stay in power despite low approval ratings, she may be benefiting from a feeling that there is no need to upset the apple cart<\/a> at a time of relative prosperity.<\/p>\n Despite some widening inequality and pockets of poverty, \u201cmost middle-class citizens are satisfied with their lives in Tokyo,\u201d said Jiro Yamaguchi, a political scientist at Hosei University in Tokyo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Although Ms. Koike has not entirely delivered on promises to eliminate day care waiting lists, reduce commuter train congestion and abolish overtime among municipal workers, she has used a budget surplus to provide subsidies for families with children and free tuition to private high schools in the city.<\/p>\n Ms. Koike did not grant an interview request. Mitsui Fudosan, the developer involved in the building projects, said in an email that it had \u201cno close relationship\u201d with the governor and had not \u201cbeen provided any special favors.\u201d<\/p>\n At first, the Tokyo governor\u2019s race seemed to promise a referendum on the Liberal Democratic Party, when one serious challenger emerged to oppose Ms. Koike: Renho Saito<\/a>, 56, a former leader of Japan\u2019s largest opposition party, who stepped down from her parliamentary seat to run. But the lineup of so many candidates has distracted from her campaign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n As the first woman to lead the opposition Democratic Party, Ms. Saito is well known in Japan. She has sought to distinguish herself from Ms. Koike by emphasizing the need to raise wages for young workers and to rein in government spending. But she has also criticized the national party for financial scandals<\/a> that have little to do with the Tokyo governorship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Focusing on the national party is \u201can easy cudgel,\u201d said Kenneth McElwain, a political scientist at the University of Tokyo. The danger is that \u201cit\u2019s a reason not to vote for Koike, but it\u2019s also a reason to vote for any of the 50-odd challengers.\u201d<\/p>\n Other candidates have taken swings at the national government. Yusuke Kawai, who appeared in a campaign video on NHK, the public broadcaster, with stringy hair, face whitened and lips smeared red in a caricature of the Joker from the Batman franchise, lambasted<\/a> Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for his plans to raise taxes.<\/p>\n \u201cPrime Minister, before you raise taxes, make sure you sell that Rolex on your wrist!\u201d he screeched, cackling maniacally and writhing on a desk.<\/p>\n Campaign rules allow anyone who pays a deposit of about $19,000 to run for governor, and give each candidate two six-minute slots on NHK and the right to post signs on one of 14,000 official election billboards across the city.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Although the intent is to level the playing field for political participation, the system has been hijacked by people who want to reach a large audience with messages that might have little to do with politics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n