200,000 Votes Even After Resigning Over Workplace Bullying: The Enduring Appeal of the Old-School Japanese Leader in Yokohama's Mayoral Election

Yokohama recently held a mayoral election, and first-time candidate Atsumi Harasawa won.

The election was triggered by allegations of workplace bullying against former mayor Takeharu Yamanaka.

An independent investigation found that he had verbally abused and intimidated city employees. Calls for his resignation erupted in the city council, and as a no-confidence motion became an increasingly realistic prospect, Yamanaka resigned before completing his term.

Yet Yamanaka immediately ran again in the election to choose his successor.

He lost. In fact, he came in third.

Up to that point, the outcome was predictable in a sense.

What interested me, however, was the number of votes he received.

About 200,000.

A man who had resigned over workplace bullying still received votes from roughly 200,000 people.

What 200,000 Votes Mean

In this election, Harasawa won with approximately 550,000 votes. The second-place candidate received about 230,000, while Yamanaka received around 200,000.

Yamanaka had lost the support of the major political parties and was effectively forced to campaign on his personal name recognition and record.

Even so, he received about 200,000 votes.

That means a considerable number of voters chose Yamanaka despite knowing about the workplace bullying allegations.

Why?

What came to mind was the kind of leader that Japanese society once valued.

In the Past, Would He Have Been Seen as a Boss You Could Rely On?

From the Showa era through the early years of the Heisei era, Japanese organizations had fiercely top-down leaders.

They shouted at subordinates. They reprimanded them harshly. They forced their own policies through.

Conduct that would now be condemned as workplace bullying was sometimes praised at the time as the behavior of a “demanding but capable boss” or evidence of “strong leadership.”

Having worked in the IT industry for many years, I have seen managers of this kind myself.

Their subordinates feared them, yet senior executives held them in high regard. As long as they delivered results, people overlooked a certain amount of abusive behavior.

There certainly was such a time.

Perhaps some of those who voted for Yamanaka also associated forcefulness with the ability to get things done.

They may have recognized the problem of workplace bullying but still placed greater weight on his record and ability as a politician.

That is one possible explanation.

The Contrasting Image of the New Mayor

Harasawa, who won the election, is a woman with a background as a lawyer.

The impression she gave was strikingly different from that of former mayor Yamanaka.

Rather than projecting the image of a fiercely top-down leader, she appeared calm and approachable. Her legal background also suggested someone who values laws and rules.

To me, this contrasting image seemed carefully attuned to the workplace bullying issue at the center of the election.

Of course, her actual ability to run the city remains to be seen. At the very least, however, voters in this election were presented with a model of leadership different from that of the former mayor.

From a leader who moves people by shouting at them to one who values dialogue and rules.

More than a simple change of mayor, the election seemed to symbolize a change in the kind of leadership people expect.

The Abilities Expected of Leaders Have Changed

In the past, strong leadership and a record of results could lead people to overlook other problems.

Today, leaders are judged not only on their ability to deliver results but also on their ability to treat subordinates properly and run a healthy organization.

Being good at your job does not give you the right to shout at your subordinates.

The same person can therefore be judged very differently depending on which set of values someone considers more important.

About 200,000 votes for Yamanaka and about 550,000 for Harasawa.

These figures alone cannot tell us exactly what voters were thinking, but in them I sensed how the image of an ideal leader changes with the times.

Times Change, but People’s Values Do Not Change All at Once

Elections are fascinating.

Even when someone faces intense public criticism and loses the support of political parties, not every supporter disappears.

At the same time, a style of leadership that was once valued will not necessarily remain effective forever.

This election seemed to me like an event in which old and new values intersected.

And there is a slightly ironic twist to the story.

In the past, a boss who said, “Follow me,” might have been seen as dependable. Today, there is no guarantee that any subordinates will follow after those words.

The next person to show up might be a lawyer.