In the House of Representatives single-seat constituency election, with voting and counting held on October 27, 2024, Hyogo 7th District was won by “Kenji Yamada.”
House of Representatives General Election Vote-Counting Updates | Nishinomiya City Website
Hyogo 2nd District in northern Nishinomiya was won by “Kazuyoshi Akaba.”
House of Representatives General Election Vote-Counting Updates | Nishinomiya City Website
As it happened, Kenji Yamada’s office was inside Shukugawa Green Town, near the Nishi2 office, so we went over at around 8 p.m.
Whoa! It had that atmosphere you often see on TV.
There was even an MBS camera crew there!
By the way, the election program they were watching here was NHK. But since it was just 8 p.m. and vote counting hadn’t even started yet, we decided to head back.
We came back around 10:30 p.m. Since it was a rare opportunity, we decided to stick around and follow things closely, even though we didn’t know whether he would win.
Apparently Shinjiro Koizumi had also visited before, and he was impressed by the convenience of the Nishinomiya-Ashiya stretch of Yamate Kansen and by Shukugawa.Wish I could’ve met him
Kenji Yamada was apparently waiting at his home in Nishinomiya, about five minutes from here, and would come over once the situation became clear.
Just before midnight, a camera crew from Sun TV joined in, and the mood started to feel like, “Hm? Are they expecting him to win?”
A few dozen minutes later, there was a live broadcast from this campaign office, and everyone was watching that TV broadcast on TV.
Everyone quietly watched the camera work during the live broadcast. After it ended, they applauded the camera operator as if to say, “Did we just win?”It really felt like a behind-the-scenes look at the stage.
When they saw on TV that Kenji Yamada had the highest number of votes(though he hadn’t been projected the winner yet), there was more applause. The mood was relaxed, with people saying things like, “He hasn’t actually won yet, though.”
It was 12:48 a.m. This was right after someone let everyone know, “Kobe Shimbun has called it.” There was huge applause, and everyone looked so happy.
A few minutes later, Kenji Yamada arrived at the office.
He appeared in front of everyone and expressed his thanks with a very deep bow.
Right away, the TV broadcast started, and when he looked at the TV and saw himself on screen, he had this reaction like, “Oh, ah, this is it. Haha.”
Also, since it was a live broadcast, the movement on screen was delayed quite a bit.
The thing you often see at election offices: three cheers of banzai.
He was also presented with several bouquets. He looked really happy.
Mayor Ishii also rushed over, and everyone got excited talking about how the Nishinomiya City Election Administration Commission’s vote counting was running a little late, making them all restless.
He shook hands with all the supporters and people involved. After that, everyone happily took lots of commemorative photos. The deputy mayor of Ashiya also came by to congratulate him.(Mayor Takashima seems to be away on a business trip
So, there you have it.
How was this close-up look at the path to victory inside a campaign office, something we usually only see on TV? We may get the chance to show you more rare behind-the-scenes moments in Nishinomiya, so stay tuned!We’ll also have a follow-up on the Jizo statue very soon!
