Develop closer ties with public and make full use of party Program in Diet discussions: Shii

Japan Press Weekly

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

Develop closer ties with public and make full use of party Program in Diet discussions: Shii

On the first day of the extraordinary Diet session of October 1, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo called on the party's parliamentarians to further develop ties with citizens and promote Diet discussions based on what its Program is calling for.

At a JCP Dietmembers' meeting, Shii stated that in their deliberations at Diet meetings they should offer constructive solutions to innumerable issues based on the JCP Program so that they can present the party's proposal for "Remaking Japan" which calls for a change of the current politics in favor of the U.S. government and Japanese business circles to one of working for the interests of the people.

He pointed out that there is no difference between the Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Democratic Party in regard to two major issues: both parties promote the policies of raising the consumption tax while cutting corporate taxes and relocating the U.S. Futenma base to Henoko in Okinawa's Nago City. "The real difference can be found between citizens' interests and the old-style politics centering on the U.S. and Japanese big business circles. The JCP will strive to correct this distortion in politics," he stressed.

Shii secondly called for parliamentarians' efforts to create and expand ties with the general populace.

He stated that under the current economic crisis, the need to develop cooperation among the people is urgent in order to win a drastic revision of the Worker Dispatch Law, an increase in minimum hourly wages, and the eradication of the "working poor" phenomenon.

Pointing out that after the House of Councilors election the JCP has further developed its connections with university presidents, agricultural cooperatives, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and medical associations, he said, "In every field of citizens' livelihoods, we have witnessed contradictions with the DPJ government. We, the party's Diet representatives, need to have strong ties with citizens and their movements, and reflect their demands in Diet discussions."

- Akahata, October 2, 2010