September 1, 2020

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira on August 31 at a press conference in the Diet building said that as Prime Minister Abe Shinzo expressed his intent to step down, opposition parties need to jointly present a vision of a new government and spur discussion on electoral cooperation.

Koike pointed out that although Abe’s resignation is directly due to his health condition, it is also a result of the failure of his domestic and foreign policies. Koike said that Abe has trampled on the spirit of the Constitution, badly damaged both household and national economies with two consumption tax hikes, and adopted an extremely submissive stance toward the U.S., Russia, and China.

Koike also criticized Abe’s governing style by saying, “He pays no attention to differing opinions and has undermined the principle of the Constitution by abusively using the ruling block’s majority in the Diet.”

He added, “Now is the time for the opposition parties to fight together under the banner of a change in politics,” and underscored the need to speed up talks on electoral cooperation.

Referring to Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party now selecting a new leader who will become the next prime minister, Koike said, “No matter which LDP politician will take over as the party president and thus be appointed prime minister, the next LDP-led government will carry on with Abe’s LDP-style politics. It is impossible to create a new framework in politics under this political structure.” He also said that the next government will be unstable as it will not have a clear popular mandate.

Pointing out that the House of Representatives can be dissolved and a general election can be called at any time, Koike called on other opposition parties to immediately start talks on making the necessary preparations.