April 22, 2019

Pledging to block the construction of a new U.S. base in Okinawa’s Henoko, “All Okinawa” candidate Yara Tomohiro on April 21 defeated his pro-base rival backed by the Liberal Democratic and Komei parties in the House of Representatives by-election in the Okinawa No.3 electoral district.

In another Lower House by-election in the Osaka No.12 district held on the same day, an LDP-Komei candidate lost to a candidate of the “Nippon Ishin no Kai” party. In the election, former Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Miyamoto Takeshi ran as an independent candidate with support from the opposition/citizens alliance and put up a good fight.

JCP Chair Shii Kazuo on the night of election day held a press conference in the JCP headquarters and commented on the results of the two by-elections.

Shii said that Yara’s success in the by-election represents Okinawans’ victory over the Abe government which is determined to push forward with the landfill work at Henoko. The defeat of the LDP candidate who supports the promotion of the Henoko base construction undoubtedly underscores local residents’ rejection of the base project.

Shii said that concerted efforts by “All Okinawa” forces helped produce their candidate’s victory. In addition, he pointed out, leaders of the JCP and three other opposition parties made the joint visit to Okinawa for the first time to increase support for Yara.

Shii demanded that the Abe government accept the election results, stop the Henoko base construction work without delay, and negotiate with the U.S. for the unconditional removal of the U.S. Futenma base.

Concerning the result of the Osaka by-election, Shii said that it is regrettable that Miyamoto failed to secure a seat. On the other hand, he referred to the facts that Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Edano Yukio, Liberal Party head Ozawa Ichiro, Democratic Party for the People chief Tamaki Yuichiro, and many other opposition party Dietmembers went to Osaka to attract voters’ support for Miyamoto and that in response to the Civil Alliance’s call, a large number of citizens from across the country gathered to support Miyamoto’s campaign. These will lead to the further development of the joint struggle between the opposition parties and concerned citizens.

Past related article:
> Okinawa governor notifies Japan & US gov'ts of Okinawans' rejection to Henoko base construction [March 2, 2019]