Harumi Yoshida, a first-term member of the House of Representatives and candidate for the Constitutional Democratic Party leadership election, expressed her determination at a joint press conference on the 7th, stating, “In Nagatacho, it’s unheard of for a first-term member to challenge. I want to change that common sense.” Securing endorsements was difficult, and her application for candidacy was completed just one minute before the deadline. She reached a last-minute agreement to unify candidates with former deputy leader Kenji Eda, who was in a similar situation.
Harumi Yoshida participating in the candidate debate for the Constitutional Democratic Party leadership election at the Japan National Press Club in Uchikawacho, Tokyo.
Yoshida, hailing from Yamagata Prefecture, worked as a flight attendant at an airline after graduating from Rikkyo University. She has a background that includes working for an investment firm and a securities company, and served as secretary to then-Minister of Justice Toshio Ogawa during the former Democratic Party administration.
In the 2021 House of Representatives election, she ran in Tokyo’s 8th district and defeated former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Nobuhiro Ishihara to be elected for the first time. Born as the eldest daughter of a greengrocer, she prides herself on representing the voices of everyday people, saying, “I understand the weight of one yen as a daughter of a greengrocer.”
Eda, who supported her, sent a message to reporters, stating, “The public is trying to save on a cabbage, cutting costs down to the yen due to rising prices. We will join forces for Yoshida to succeed.” (Mizukawa Jo)