JCP on Upper House election results

The following is the statement published on July 13 by the Standing Executive Committee of the Japanese Communist Party Central Committee on the results of the July 11 House of Councilors election:

(1) Following a JCP setback in the House of Councilors general election last year, we decided to "take a hard look at the achievement the JCP made in that election and on this basis, make a steady advance." Firmly determined to rally in the House of Councilors election, we set a goal of securing five proportional representation seats and defending the seven incumbent JCP seats in prefectural constituencies. To achieve this goal, we decided that we must receive more than 6.1 million votes, a 33-percent increase from the general election.

In the July 11 House of Councilors election, the JCP could secure only four proportional representation seats, falling short of its goal to gain five seats, and lost all incumbent JCP seats in prefectural constituencies. The Standing Executive Committee is acutely aware of its responsibility for this regrettable result.

We also notice that the number of votes the JCP received in the proportional representation election was 4.36 million votes or 7.8%. This shows that we basically retained what we achieved in the 2003 general election, i.e. 4.58 million votes or 7.76%. This in itself is of great significance as an achievement made by all JCP members and supporters making great efforts. In the Okinawa prefectural constituency, JCP-recommended candidate Itokazu Keiko was elected. We are pleased with this result as an expression of Okinawans' wish for an Okinawa without U.S. military bases.

We will seriously pay attention to opinions and criticism inside and outside of the JCP and review the 2004 House of Councilors election in the coming Central Committee Plenum.

The Standing Executive Committee of the Japanese Communist Party Central Committee expresses its heartfelt gratitude to all those who voted for the JCP as well as all those who braved the hot weather to work hard to achieve a JCP advance, including JCP Supporters' Association members, JCP supporters, and JCP members.

(2) In our election campaign, we tried hard to draw voters' attention to the JCP's proposal for remaking Japan through true political change aimed at ending the political distortions: subservience to the United States and the "policy of giving the business sector the role of key player." The JCP made efforts to make its policies known to the voters on the burning issues: pension reforms; the consumption tax; Self-Defense Forces dispatch to Iraq; and constitutional revision.

The JCP criticized the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, which are often referred to as the "two major parties", for lacking the willingness to fundamentally correct the serious political distortions and for sharing the same political line concerning major issues, including pensions, a consumption tax increase, and amending Article 9 of the Constitution. The JCP insisted that a major JCP advance in the election is necessary to develop a new politics that will effectively help to challenge the "two-party system".

We are convinced that our appeal in the election campaign was in accord with public interests and was to the point. We believe that many of those who participated in the election campaign with the JCP must share the feeling that where our appeal was heard, support for our policies spread among many people.

(3) However, we fell short of influencing public opinion under the circumstances in which voters were lured into choosing between the "two major parties," the LDP or DPJ.

The present trend geared to create a political system led by two major parties emerged on a full scale in the House of Representatives general election last year with the business sector as a strong supporter. With the aim of prolonging the life of the crisis-ridden LDP politics, this movement only stressed the need to choose a party that can assume power without addressing the root cause of the political distortions. So from the outset the JCP was deliberately excluded because it is not considered viable as a possible ruling party. This argument had a strong influence on voters in the House of Councilors election.

The JCP without doubt gained a broad support for its policies throughout the election campaign. On the other hand, however, many people who used to vote for the JCP switched to support the DPJ this time to express their anger at the LDP politics and their desire to change politics now.

These are the complicated and difficult conditions of the election campaign that explain why the JCP decreased its Diet seats instead of recovering its lost ground in spite of the great efforts made by many supporters.

(4) At a time when the "two major parties" share the same direction in calling for a constitutional revision and a consumption tax increase as immediate tasks, our immediate task is to develop and increase a new people-first politics in opposition to one led by two major parties. It is an increasingly important task for a future Japan. The JCP will make every effort to carry it out. In this regard, it is essential for us to carry out day-to-day activities. Specifically, we place emphasis on the following three points:

First, in future political developments we cannot avoid facing serious challenges such as a consumption tax rate increase and an adverse revision of the Constitution. We will argue and struggle for defending people's livelihoods and peace in the parliament and in the grassroots movements, hand in hand with the people. As we carry out this struggle on a national scale, people through their experiences will realize the real aim of the adverse moves toward a "two-party" system.

Second, we will systematically carry out activities to make the new JCP Program and JCP proposals for remaking Japan known widely to the people. In the July 11 election, the JCP actively distributed a leaflet entitled "Hello, this is the JCP" and reached out to as many people as possible for discussion. We need to further develop this activity so that people will come to understand that they indeed have a political alternative to change Japan for the better. Only by this twofold approach can we make clear how harmful the nominal change of government under the "two party" slogan in the old political framework is to the future of Japan.

Third, we will exert more efforts to increase the grassroots strength that we have in order to make a breakthrough in the situation. In link with the policy set out by its Congress in January, the JCP increased the Akahata readership for five straight months. This is a valuable asset achieved by the effort of the whole party. Without doubt, this added major strength to the effort to sustain the JCP's vote-getting strength, though we fell short of recovering what we lost in the previous elections. Our greatest asset to form a new current for people-first politics lies in our ties with people in local struggles at the grassroots level. We will continue our efforts to increase this united strength. (end)