April 27, 2019
The Japanese Communist Party and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan on April 26 held a meeting in the Diet building and agreed to accelerate talks on fielding unified opposition candidates in national elections with an eye to forcing Prime Minister Abe Shinzo from power. The JCP also stressed the need to discuss a joint platform and vision for a new government.
In the meeting, JCP Chair Shii Kazuo and Edano Yukio, head of the main opposition party CDPJ, agreed to speed up negotiations in regard to putting up joint candidates in all 32 single-seat districts in this summer’s House of Councilors election. They also decided to begin talks on joint opposition candidates in single-member constituencies in case of a House of Representatives snap election.
The JCP chair proposed that four points should be considered in negotiations for joint opposition candidates.
First, Shii said, none of the parties should be required to make concessions every time on the choice of candidates. Referring to the fact that in the 2016 Upper House and 2017 Lower House elections, the JCP decided to withdraw its candidates in order to support joint opposition candidates, Shii said, “These decisions made sense given the circumstances at that time. However, electoral cooperation should be mutual and inclusive.”
As the second point, Shii said that not only fielding unified candidates, the opposition parties should work together in campaigning to defeat LDP candidates. Third, Shii went on to say, the opposition parties need to work hard to create a joint platform.
As the fourth point, Shii said that the opposition parties should make efforts to reach a forward-looking agreement concerning a coalition government of opposition parties. He noted that the JCP in 2015 presented a vision for a “national coalition government” aimed at repealing the war laws just after the enactment of the laws. Shii stressed that this vision evolved into the vision for a coalition government of opposition parties and that a forward-looking consensus regarding a revised version of the vision is necessary.
CDPJ chief Edano in reply said that he will seriously consider the JCP proposals and expressed his hope for furthering discussions.
JCP Secretariat Head Koike Akira and CDPJ Secretary-General Fukuyama Tetsuro also attended the meeting.
Past related articles:
> Opposition parties on televised program discuss how to beat LDP [January 30, 2019]
> JCP holds series of talks with opposition parties over a national coalition gov’t to repeal war legislation [September 26 & 29, 2015]
In the meeting, JCP Chair Shii Kazuo and Edano Yukio, head of the main opposition party CDPJ, agreed to speed up negotiations in regard to putting up joint candidates in all 32 single-seat districts in this summer’s House of Councilors election. They also decided to begin talks on joint opposition candidates in single-member constituencies in case of a House of Representatives snap election.
The JCP chair proposed that four points should be considered in negotiations for joint opposition candidates.
First, Shii said, none of the parties should be required to make concessions every time on the choice of candidates. Referring to the fact that in the 2016 Upper House and 2017 Lower House elections, the JCP decided to withdraw its candidates in order to support joint opposition candidates, Shii said, “These decisions made sense given the circumstances at that time. However, electoral cooperation should be mutual and inclusive.”
As the second point, Shii said that not only fielding unified candidates, the opposition parties should work together in campaigning to defeat LDP candidates. Third, Shii went on to say, the opposition parties need to work hard to create a joint platform.
As the fourth point, Shii said that the opposition parties should make efforts to reach a forward-looking agreement concerning a coalition government of opposition parties. He noted that the JCP in 2015 presented a vision for a “national coalition government” aimed at repealing the war laws just after the enactment of the laws. Shii stressed that this vision evolved into the vision for a coalition government of opposition parties and that a forward-looking consensus regarding a revised version of the vision is necessary.
CDPJ chief Edano in reply said that he will seriously consider the JCP proposals and expressed his hope for furthering discussions.
JCP Secretariat Head Koike Akira and CDPJ Secretary-General Fukuyama Tetsuro also attended the meeting.
Past related articles:
> Opposition parties on televised program discuss how to beat LDP [January 30, 2019]
> JCP holds series of talks with opposition parties over a national coalition gov’t to repeal war legislation [September 26 & 29, 2015]
