April 4, 2019

The Japanese Communist Party and five other opposition parties on April 3 at a meeting held in the Diet building agreed to demand the resignation of the State Minister of Land who said that in line with the wishes of the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, he will promote a public works project in their hometowns.

JCP Diet Policy Commission Chair Kokuta Keiji at a press conference after the meeting said that the remark by the deputy land minister, Tsukada Ichiro, is typical of the Abe government which uses national politics for its own interests. He said that Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s responsibility is called into question and that the six opposition parties will work together to grill the government on the issue in Diet discussions.

The remark in question was made on April 1 at a meeting which was held in Fukuoka’s Kitakyushu City to increase support for a Liberal Democratic Party-backed candidate in the Fukuoka gubernatorial election.

Speaking as a guest, Tsukada referred to the Shimonoseki-Kitakyushu road construction plan which is designed to link Yamaguchi’s Shimonoseki City and Fukuoka’s Kitakyushu City with a new bridge across a strait. He stressed that the construction project will connect PM Abe’s hometown of Yamaguchi with Deputy PM Aso’s hometown of Fukuoka. Tsukada boasted that with the aim of pleasing Abe and Aso, he proceeded with the project by allocating a budget for government research concerning the plan.

In addition, Tsukada reported that he met with LDP heavyweight Yoshida Hiromi who heads a group of House of Councilors members promoting the Shimonoseki-Kitakyushu road project at the deputy land minister’s office the other day. He noted that at the meeting, Yoshida reminded him that the road construction project involves the hometowns of the prime minister and deputy prime minister. Tsukada said, “I’m quick to understand and I replied to Yoshida, ‘I’ve got it.’”

The Transport Ministry in FY2019 plans to spend 40 million yen to carry out research on the Shimonoseki Kitakyushu road project.