 Shii: JCP will discuss postal bills to get them foiled The House of Representatives Plenary Session on May 26 began to discuss the bills related to postal services privatization. Speaking at a JCP Dietmembers' meeting held before the plenary session, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo criticized the Democratic Party of Japan for boycotting discussion, saying, "The boycott may give the appearance that the DPJ is confronting the ruling parties, but the DPJ in fact is with the ruling parties in trying to wreck the national assets." Shii said, "The JCP will squarely confront the other parties and oppose the bills in order to defend public interests and publicly reveal the injustice of the bill through parliamentary debates." In the Lower House questioning on behalf of the JCP, Shiokawa Tetsuya said that the argument of greater convenience and an increase in revenue cited by the government as merits of privatization is ungrounded, and that privatization will mean to the people increased burdens on the public for reduced services. JCP Shiokawa also pointed out that the bills have serious defects in that they lack legislation concerning the structure after the present post office network is replaced by private sector ownership. The DPJ and the Social Democratic Party boycotted the discussion by absenting themselves from the plenary session because their demand that the bills be re-submitted had been rejected. - Akahata May 27, 2005 |