Workers in 72nd May Day celebrations call for political change

On May 1, the 72nd May Day rallies were held in 386 places throughout Japan in which workers and citizens called for job security and improvement of living conditions through a consumption tax rate cut, the elimination of overtime work without pay, and a change of government.

In Tokyo, about 80,000 people took part in the central rally at Yoyogi Park.

The National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) President Kobayashi Yoji in his address on behalf of the rally organizers said that the "structural reform" Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro calls for is nothing but promotion of corporate restructuring, which will only help increase unemployment and the bankruptcies of small- and medium-sized businesses.

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo in his solidarity speech said that the joint struggle of the JCP and workers has succeeded in pushing the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare to take steps for eliminating unpaid overtime."We can find a way if we fight. Let's fight to change politics and protect our rights and living," he added.

A representative of the national union of consumers cooperatives reported that joint struggle is developing among part-time and temporary workers of various industries, calling for wage increases and equal working conditions to full-time workers'. (end)