A Mysterious Organization? The Reality of a 'Support Association'

There are two types, but the work is the same

As elections approach, I imagine you find politicians' leaflets in your mailboxes. Among them, there is likely a paper called a "Support Association Membership Application Form," where you are asked to write your name, address, and the name of the person who introduced you. Some people might not notice this and put it in the recycling bin, while others might ignore it, thinking, "I don't want to join a suspicious organization." You might not usually pay it any mind, but what exactly is a politician's "support association" in the first place? In this article, I will explain this mystery.

First, there are essentially two types of support associations. The first is an organization registered as a political group. You appoint a representative, a treasurer, and an assistant treasurer, and register it both on paper and legally. The other is an organization that has not made such a notification. That does not mean it is an "unauthorized organization"; it can still proudly operate as a legitimate support group. In principle, it is treated the same as an organization registered as a political group. Therefore, there is almost no difference between the two, except for minor variations, such as when installing signs with a politician's name written in large letters that you see around town: in the case of a city council candidate's political group, the number allowed is six for the candidate themselves plus six for the group, whereas otherwise, it is limited to six for the candidate alone.

Even so, perhaps due to the preconception that "it is better to properly register when engaging in political activities," the majority of support associations are registered as political groups. Regardless of the actual situation, in this article, I will refer to both collectively as "support associations" as I proceed.
So, what is the purpose of these support associations, and what kind of activities do they engage in?
I always explain it by comparing it to an "idol fan club."

The more supporters you have, the stronger your "winning power" becomes

The primary purpose of a support association is for members to do what they can to increase the number of supporters. In other words, it is to gather votes. It is the same as a fan club that aims to increase fans and support their "favorite." It is simple.
So, what happens if you run in an election without a support association? The result is obvious: it becomes a literal lonely struggle. You have to do everything yourself—distributing flyers, running the office, putting up posters, and driving for campaign activities—and you will end up losing the election because you are buried in miscellaneous tasks. But if you have a support association, you can divide the work, and the candidate can focus on the core parts of the election campaign. You could say that election power is directly proportional to the number of people in the support association.

A recent example where this was clearly demonstrated in national and local elections is the rapid progress of the Sanseito party. Because the party had many highly enthusiastic supporters, their ripple effect was strong, and they increased the number of winning candidates in various places. It has also been reported that even those who lost came very close to incumbents or significantly increased their vote counts. You can see from these examples just how important the power of a support association is.
As you can see, the support association greatly influences election results. While the work of each member as part of the active force is important, the "officers" are particularly crucial.

Be careful when selecting the head of the organization

Many support associations are organized into chairpersons, officers, and members. If you compare it to a corporate organization, the officers are the "directors." While each member does the steady work of accumulating one vote, two votes, and so on, the officers have the power to move votes in units of dozens or hundreds at once. Having such people gives depth to the activities of the support association.
Then what about the chairperson? It is fine to ask a local dignitary to take the seat of chairperson. It is not a problem even if it is just for the name. Of course, this is limited to people who are well-respected. Persuading such people is quite difficult, and depending on the person, it may not be straightforward. However, looking at it the other way, once you overcome the hurdle of "persuading a dignitary to become the chairperson," the probability of winning increases significantly.

There is a quality that candidates should look for in such a support association chairperson: the ability to listen to the candidate and empathize with them.
Candidates sometimes become lonely. Amidst the anxiety of "will I be able to win?," they cannot even vent during the election campaign. At such times, if there is no one who can listen to their worries and complaints, or listen to things they cannot tell anyone else, they feel like they might break down. For example, real worries such as "my family is against it and things are chaotic at home," "I am furious because a local resident said something abusive to me," or "I am anxious because I am running out of funds." Instead of saying "just endure it for now," a person who listens by saying "I see, I see" and gives advice when the candidate has calmed down is indispensable.

Actually, I have had a painful experience myself. In one election, I had a new chairperson take office, but they were the type of person who, no matter what I said, would blame me, saying "it's your fault" or "the residents are saying this, so you should change." I stopped knowing whether the chairperson was an enemy or an ally, and gradually we were unable to communicate, and the atmosphere of the support association became the worst. Since then, I have made it a point to advise those seeking consultation to "look closely at the other person."
The power to pull in votes is important, but first, it is important to have someone you can talk to honestly. Teamwork is life in an election.