JCP leaders comment on Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election results

Japan Press Weekly

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JCP leaders comment on Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election results

With the vote count for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election almost completed late at night on July 12, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo commented on the election results as follows:

The JCP campaigned to win support by emphasizing that this Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election was offering voters an opportunity to choose the JCP or the other parties that are in reality part of the ruling bloc made up of the Liberal Democratic, Komei, and Democratic parties.

We demanded improvements in welfare and medical services as well as in education, now ranking at the bottom among the 47 prefectures in Japan. We also called for wasteful uses of tax revenue to be eliminated.

I'm convinced that these JCP policies represented the majority of the voters' interests. The JCP will make every possible effort in the new assembly in cooperation with various citizens' movements to implement our public promises.

In this election, there was a massive campaign launched to urge voters to choose either the "ruling LDP" or the "opposition DPJ." This campaign was a strong adverse wind blowing against the JCP. We tried hard to counter this argument by pointing to the true campaign issue at both the national level and the local levels. We were able to garner public support where our appeal was heard.

It is very regrettable that while regaining a seat we lost in the previous election in Koto Ward, the JCP decreased the number of its seats in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.

While the vote count will finish soon, the number of votes cast for the JCP today will be more than that the JCP received in Tokyo in the proportional representation bloc in the 2007 House of Councilors election, and will be almost equal to the level the JCP obtained in the 2005 Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election.

I think that all the votes cast for the JCP under the present harsh conditions will be a great stronghold for the JCP in the next elections.

We will give an in-depth analysis of the election results and draw lessons from this shortly. The JCP is determined to achieve an advance in the upcoming House of Representatives general election.

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In terms of votes cast, the JCP advances: JCP Ichida

Commenting on the results of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi made a statement at the press conference in the Diet. He stated:

JCP Chair Shii made the general comment on the election results at the news conference yesterday (July 12), so I'll make some additional comments this morning based on the final data.

In comparison with about 680,000 votes cast for the JCP in the 2005 Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, the JCP in the recent election received about 707,000 votes, a slight increase.

Compared with the votes (about 554,600) the JCP won in the 2007 House of Councilors (proportional representation) election in the Tokyo bloc, the number of 707,000 votes was an up by 27.6 percent point to 127.6 percent, while it was 94.7 percent for the LDP, 100.1 for the DPJ, and 103.5 for the Komei Party.

It is a setback that the JCP seats declined in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, but it should be pointed out that the JCP made a valuable advance in terms of the number of votes in comparison with the latest House of Councilors proportional representation election.

The JCP is determined to make every possible effort by taking this advantage to increase JCP support in the coming general election.

- Akahata, July 13, 14, 2009