 JCP win assembly elections in 3 cities, 1 town Nine Japanese Communist Party candidates were elected in the March 13 local assembly elections in three cities and a town. In Saitama Prefecture, all four JCP candidates were elected to the Iruma City Assembly (24 seats), achieving the largest-share the JCP ever had in the assembly. The number of votes they obtained increased by 30 percent from that in the Upper House proportional representation election in 2004. In Togane City Assembly (22 seats) election in Chiba Prefecture, the JCP won an extra seat to form a 2-member JCP group. An incumbent JCP candidate secured his sixth term in the Kazuno City Assembly (21 seats) in Akita Prefecture. In Taiki Town Assembly (18 seats) in Mie Prefecture, the JCP won two seats and the right to submit bills to the assembly. One JCP candidate finished second by increasing more than sevenfold the number of votes from that obtained in the 2004 Upper House proportional representation election. The other candidate also won with the number of votes increasing by 225 percent. The JCP fell short of winning a single-seat by-election of the Chiba Prefectural Assembly although it received 24,622 votes, up 11,000 votes from the 2004 Upper House proportional representation election. (end) |