June 4, 2022

With the aim of making strides toward achieving a major advance in the House of Councilors election next month, the Japanese Communist Party Central Committee held its 5th Plenum on June 3 at the JCP head office in Tokyo, connecting online with party organizations across the country. Chair Shii Kazuo gave the report on behalf of the JCP Executive Committee which more than 16,000 party members viewed via intra-communications while nearly 16,000 people watched a live stream of Shii’s report on YouTube.

In the presentation of the report, Shii said that the major political goal of the party in the July Upper House election will be to obtain more than 6.5 million votes or 10% of votes cast in order to win the victory of all five candidates in the nation-wide proportional representation bloc and secure seats in Tokyo and other constituencies.

Shii then pointed out that a major JCP advance in the coming election will have profound significance for the future of Japan.

Shii referred to an attempt to strengthen Japan’s military capability which takes advantage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and said that the results of the July Upper House election will determine Japan’s future course: peace or war. Pointing out that the attempt to further advance Japan’s military buildup will lead to a limitless increase in Japan’s military spending which will negatively impact people’s livelihoods, Shii said that in order to block such an attempt and build “peace through diplomacy”, it is vital for the JCP to achieve a major advance in the Upper House election.

Shii also cited the need to put an end to policies promoting neoliberalism to reduce the hardships the general public is experiencing under the current price surge. He explained the JCP proposal for creating a “people-oriented, genuine strong economy”, and called on party members to work hard to win a victory in the Upper House election to achieve this. In addition, He stressed that a JCP major advance is important to brighten the prospects of further collaboration between opposition parties and concerned citizens.

Shii in conclusion noted that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the JCP’s founding, and said, “Let’s work hard so that the party which always stands firm on protecting freedom and peace will achieve a major advance in this summer’s Upper House election.”

Past related article:
> Shii: FY 2022 supplementary budget draft unable to ease impact of price surge on people’s livelihoods [May 26, 2022]