Japan's maverick ex-governor wants job back

The popular novelist-turned politician Yasuo Tanaka lost his job as a governor last month after the local assembly passed a no-confidence motion

NAGANO, Japan (CNN) -- Usually Japan's local elections don't attract international attention. But a race for governor in the mountainous Nagano prefecture, which hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics, is by all means unusual.

Nagano's maverick ex-governor is now fighting to get his job back after the local assembly got rid of him -- something almost unheard of in Japan's consensus-oriented culture.

Yasuo Tanaka can't go anywhere these days without the media chasing him as he campaigns for re-election. After about two years as the governor of Nagano he was ousted last month.

The local assembly made national news by passing a no-confidence motion against him after he defied their wishes and canceled construction plans for two new dams.

Opinion polls show a solid majority of Nagano's people oppose building more dams. Tanaka blames the projects on special interest groups now controlling Japanese politics.

"Most of assembly members belong to a very square-minded group. They just hear their very small number of supporters who work in public construction," said Tanaka.

"This is a kind of revolution. I think it's very very hard but we have to [do this]. Otherwise the country and the society of Japan will be demolished."

Revolution or all show?

Tanaka is most famous for his glass-paneled office -- a move to make government, literally, more transparent.

He is also famous for flashy media stunts and public displays of emotion, shocking the conservative establishment which calls him all show and no substance.

Tanaka believes he is at the forefront of a revolution in Japanese politics. His opponents say he is just incompetent.

Local assembly member Yasuyuki Hama finds Tanaka so offensive that he will resign if the ex-governor gets re-elected.

Although Hama admits the public resents being governed by bureaucrats, he believes local officials have a duty to do what they know is best while dam projects are never popular.

Among four other candidates running for governor against Tanaka, Nagano's conservative establishment backs Keiko Hasegawa, the family values candidate.

Growing dissatisfaction

Hasegawa has challenged voters to come up with one thing Tanaka has done that actually improved their lives.

One supporter of Tanaka couldn't think of anything offhand, but she still thinks Nagano needs to change, and that Tanaka is the man to make it happen.

One thing Tanaka does do well is tap the Japanese public's growing dissatisfaction with their politicians after a decade of economic stagnation.

"[In] our daily life we still live in a very shabby house and crowded train. So, our prosperity was an invisible one," Tanaka said.

The people of Nagano will decide whether to follow him further into uncharted territory or not on September 1.