Exhaust strength in Upper House election campaign: Shii

The House of Councilors election campaigns by political parties moved into higher gear on June 16 as the150-day Ordinary Diet Session came to an end. The election has been set for July 11.

Addressing a general meeting of the Japanese Communist Party Dietmembers, JCP Chair Shii Kazuo stated, "We are the party indispensable to the people. The issue is whether we can achieve a JCP advance in this election." He called on them to exert all their might in the campaign with confidence in the JCP's true worth.

Recalling the Diet session that came to an end he said, "All political parties were tested." Analyzing the three political currents that had emerged during the Diet session he said:

- The Koizumi Cabinet kept deceiving the people to force the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq and the adverse revision of the pension system, without adequate explanation to the public.

- The DPJ not only failed to counter the LDP concerning key issues but put forward policies in favor of LDP politics and business circles.

- By raising the issues concerning Iraq and the pension system, the JCP led the Diet discussion and displayed its value as a true reformer capable of replacing the policies that gives priority to serving the interests of the Unites States and the corporate sector. (end)