8 JCP candidates elected to Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

8 JCP candidates elected to Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly

The Japanese Communist Party won eight seats in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election on July 12, suffering a setback from the 13 seats it had before the election.

In this election, in which 221 candidates contested 127 seats, the Democratic Party of Japan won 54 seats, up 19 from the previous election.

In stark contrast, the Liberal Democratic Party suffered a heavy defeat by winning just 38 seats, down 10 from the previous election four years ago. The LDP surrenders its No. 1 position in the Tokyo legislature for the first time since 1965, when the LDP suffered a major defeat due to a major bribery scandal.

Voter turnout was 54.49 percent, up 10.50 percentage points from the previous election.

The JCP restored its seat in Koto City, but was unable to defend its seats in Nakano, Kita, Nerima, Edogawa, Bunkyo, and Hino cities.

The election took place amid the mounting criticism of the Ishihara-led metropolitan government for giving preference to large development projects over public welfare services.

In the election campaign, the DPJ succeeded in presenting itself as an opposition party seeking a "change in metropolitan politics" by concealing its true role as a de facto ruling party that voted for 99.3 percent of Governor Ishihara's bills.

- Akahata, July 13, 2009