July 19, 2018

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Shiokawa Tetsuya on July 18 at the House plenary session said that it is unforgivable for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to emphasize party interests rather than tackle the issue of vote-value disparities.

On this day, the LDP and its coalition partner Komei used their majority force to enact the LDP-proposed bill to revise the Public Offices Election Law. The bill is designed to work in favor for the LDP.

All opposition parties, including the JCP, voted against the bill. They criticized the introduction of the special quota for being useless to narrow vote-value gaps and for its intent to get more LDP candidates elected in the 2019 Upper House election

Prior to the vote, JCP Shiokawa took the rostrum to oppose the bill. Shiokawa pointed out that the electoral system reform will negatively affect the people’s right to political participation and the basis of parliamentary democracy.

Shiokawa referred to the 2009 Supreme Court ruling that the Upper House election system should be drastically revised to ensure vote-value equality. Shiokawa stressed that the JCP has repeatedly proposed that the election system be changed to one centering on the proportional representation system so that it will accurately reflect the various opinions of the general public while the LDP has turned its back on how to reduce the disparity in the comparative value of votes.

Shiokawa cited the fact that in the Upper House, the ruling block used its dominant position to bulldoze through the bill after unilaterally terminating discussions. He criticized the LDP and Komei for doing the same in the Lower House. The JCP lawmaker said, “It is unacceptable to change the voting system without thorough discussions. Such an act will not obtain public support.”

Past related article:
> JCP releases proposal for reform of Upper House electoral system [July 6, 2018]