Shii calls for all-out efforts to win elections

Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Shii Kazuo stated that the JCP Central Committee 5th Plenum was full of fresh determination to achieve a further JCP advance.

In the concluding remarks at the JCP Central Committee's general meeting on December 3, Shii read aloud some of the hundreds of comments received from JCP members who watched the proceedings of the JCP CC Plenum live on communication satellite television. Many said they felt proud and confident that the JCP is the only party that is worthy of political leadership.

"This is the essence of the JCP Executive Committee Report," he said.

"The most important thing for the JCP leadership and activities is for all party members to learn about the JCP's outstanding value, feel proud of it, and talk about it to as many people as possible," he stressed.

Shii noted that in the 5th CC Plenum, many members reported on hopeful new developments in local politics.

He pointed out that the common characteristic of such currents is that the traditional support for the Liberal Democratic Party government is crumbling everywhere, and that the JCP has kept up with changing situations flexibly and carried out activities to form a united front with the broadest possible section of people who want political change.

He stated that the establishment of cooperation with people without party affiliation is a joint effort based on common demands.

Concerning the coming elections, Shii stressed the importance of the JCP Executive Committee's call for all JCP members and bodies to be on the offensive, emphasizing the need to focus on increasing JCP votes and not just on an effort to secure local assembly seats.

Shii specifically drew attention to the anti-JCP campaign by the Komei Party and its parent organization Soka Gakkai, and said that the party can frustrate such campaigns. The JCP's campaign to repel the Komei/Soka Gakkai attacks should be carried out at the grassroots level and continued until the last moment when the opponent is isolated and the JCP's value is widely accepted among the public, he stressed.

Shii called on all CC members to take the lead in the struggle to win the coming simultaneous local elections and the general election. (end)