January 31, 2017
In Fukuoka’s Kitakyushu City Assembly election on January 29, the Japanese Communist Party’s 10 candidates all won seats. The JCP increased the number of its pre-election seats by one, maintaining its position as the largest opposition in the assembly.
Kitakyushu City is an ordinance-designated major city with a population of nearly 960,000. In the election, 80 candidates fiercely contested the 57 seats, reduced by four from the previous election four years ago. Although voter turnout declined, both the number and the percentage of votes obtained by the JCP went up. The party’s share of the seats in the assembly reached a record high of almost 18%.
Meanwhile, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party decreased the number of its seats from 21 to 18. The Komei Party, allied with the LDP, gained two seats for a total of 13. Nippon Ishin no Kai, cooperating with the LDP and Komei, was crushed with all its seven candidates, including the three incumbents, falling in defeat.
During the election campaign, the JCP criticized the conservative mayor and the three parties for planning to raise nursing-care insurance premiums while using 200 billion yen in taxpayer money to build yet another (the third) major road connecting Honshu and Kyushu. The JCP call for allocating more public money for the improvement of residents’ lives and welfare derived support from many voters.
JCP Secretariat Head Koike Akira on January 30 told reporters in the Diet building that during the election campaign, a lot of people expressed hope for the JCP which is consistently promoting the collaboration between the opposition parties. “Gaining momentum from this victory, we’ll continue to work to achieve a great advance in the coming general election,” said Koike.
Kitakyushu City is an ordinance-designated major city with a population of nearly 960,000. In the election, 80 candidates fiercely contested the 57 seats, reduced by four from the previous election four years ago. Although voter turnout declined, both the number and the percentage of votes obtained by the JCP went up. The party’s share of the seats in the assembly reached a record high of almost 18%.
Meanwhile, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party decreased the number of its seats from 21 to 18. The Komei Party, allied with the LDP, gained two seats for a total of 13. Nippon Ishin no Kai, cooperating with the LDP and Komei, was crushed with all its seven candidates, including the three incumbents, falling in defeat.
During the election campaign, the JCP criticized the conservative mayor and the three parties for planning to raise nursing-care insurance premiums while using 200 billion yen in taxpayer money to build yet another (the third) major road connecting Honshu and Kyushu. The JCP call for allocating more public money for the improvement of residents’ lives and welfare derived support from many voters.
JCP Secretariat Head Koike Akira on January 30 told reporters in the Diet building that during the election campaign, a lot of people expressed hope for the JCP which is consistently promoting the collaboration between the opposition parties. “Gaining momentum from this victory, we’ll continue to work to achieve a great advance in the coming general election,” said Koike.
