All JCP candidates in 5 city assembly elections get seats

Japanese Communist Party succeeded in getting all its 17 candidates elected in five city assembly elections on April 22 in defiance of overt and covert interference by the Komei Party and its parent religious organization Soka Gakkai.

Five JCP candidates were elected for the 28-seat Kamakura City Assembly (Kanagawa). In the 26-seat Hanno City Assembly (Saitama) election, the JCP won five seats. In Nagano Prefecture, the JCP won four seats in the 31-member Iida City Assembly.

In Kamakura and Hanno, the JCP managed to defend their positions despite reductions in the number of assembly seats and obstructions carried out frantically by the Komei Party and Soka Gakkai.

During the campaign in Kamakura, a JCP member who was making a speech in the street was interrupted by three women declaring themselves as Komei Party members and shouting at the JCP campaigner, saying, "Your activities are in violation of the law" and "We'll call the police." When the speaker protested against the obstruction, they ran away.

On April 22, local assembly elections took place in 31 cities, towns, and villages throughout Japan, and 58 JCP candidates were elected, up three seats from the pre-election number. (end)