Koganei City Assembly calls for elections free from obstructions; LDP and Komei opposing

In a rare move for a local assembly, Tokyo's Koganei City Assembly on April 17 adopted a resolution calling for "fair and clean elections free from all obstructions." The resolution came in the wake of the March 25 city assembly election.

In Koganei, various kinds of obstruction and anti-communist attacks were carried out fiercely by the Komei Party and its parent religious organization Soka Gakkai.

The Koganei City Assembly resolution stated that the obstructions have seriously tarnished the public offices election of the city, emphasizing that a fair election through free speech is the basis of democracy. It demands that there should be no such acts in the future as intimidating the speaker, calling a candidate a liar, or distributing defamatory leaflets and handbills.

The resolution was jointly submitted by the Japanese Communist Party, the Democratic Party of Japan, and the Citizens' Association.

The Liberal Democratic Party and the Komei Party voted against the resolution.

JCP assembly members and JCP members engaging in street speech assemblies were surrounded by groups of people who shouted such words as "liars" and "hyenas." Some grabbed their arms to obstruct their speeches.

A house which has a JCP poster was visited by three men who asked the dweller if he is a JCP member.

Koganei City in Tokyo isn't the only place where such obstruction was prevalent.

In Kamakura City in Kanagawa Prefecture, where the city assembly election will be held on April 22, intriguing leaflets slandering a JCP candidate was distributed in the middle of the night on the day the election was announced.

Similar obstructions have been reported from Nakamura City in Kochi Prefecture, Kodaira City in Tokyo, and Yatsushiro Town in Yamanashi Prefecture. (end)