Young leader on Election Visits Programme to Japan
Esther Hogenhout travelled to Tokyo in April 2011 to attend the week-long Election Visits Programme. Esther was part of a select group of 22 participants, representing 11 countries. She was pleased to represent New Zealand along with Dale Ofsoske, who manages local government elections in Auckland.
The Programme was hosted by the Japanese Cooperation Centre and supported by The International Peace and Democracy Institute, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. The focus of this event was on the Tokyo gubernatorial election of 10 April, which was conducted as one of the nationwide unified local elections in Japan.
Esther’s professional experience was very suited to the Programme: she is the steering committee representative for our Young Leaders Network Christchurch cluster, a member of our research advisory group, and she works in Christchurch for Statistics New Zealand.
Photo: Esther (front middle) with fellow young leaders at the opening of the Once Upon a Time in Asia photo exhibition in 2009.
Esther's role at Statistics New Zealand is to produce the national population estimates each quarter and assist with the subnational population estimates, which include local government data requests which feed into the election cycle.
The timing of the Election Visits Programme was a difficult issue for Esther to negotiate as she received the original invitation just a couple of hours prior to the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. She was surprised it was still to take place after she initially assumed that the event would be cancelled. While her friends, family and colleagues expressed worry about Esther travelling at this time of crisis, she felt “completely sure of my decision.” Esther explains, “I wanted to show my solidarity with the Japanese people at this time; there was no way I was turning down this opportunity!”
During the course of the trip the programme delegates shared many long bus trips and delicious Japanese meals together, and Esther felt that as a result she developed warm connections and friendships within the international group. Highlights of the programme included discussions on democratic practices and possibilities in the participants’ respective countries, as well as listening to seminars given by esteemed Japanese academics and political commentators.
The Election Visits Programme was timed so that the delegates were in Tokyo as the election results were announced. Esther says, “I was particularly interested in the analysis of the election results which a leading media commentator shared with us the following day.” Luckily, the trip also coincided perfectly with the blossoming of the cherry trees.
Esther recalls, “I took so many photos that my lithium battery went flat after just two days – I’ve never managed that before!”
As expected, the aftermath of the earthquake affected the programme in many ways: “As aftershocks continued, we were all acutely aware of the recent tragedies and were all affected by the uncertainty about the nuclear situation”, Esther remarks. She also notes that the programme speakers always commented on the situation with gratitude for the collective solidarity of the Election Visits group.
Overall, returning to Japan brought about mixed emotions for Esther who was moved by the similarities in the experiences of those in Tokyo and Christchurch. “I was struck by the mood of deep sorrow and worry for the future in Japan, having just left my hometown of Christchurch”, she says. However, she is optimistic when looking to the future: “If anything, this visit reminded me of how much I love Japan and motivated me to refresh my Nihongo (Japanese language) so I can return for another visit soon!”
