June 16, 2022

The 208th ordinary Diet closed its 150-day session on June 15, and the Kishida Cabinet formally decided to hold a House of Councilors election on July 10 with the campaign period starting on June 22.

Following the end of the Diet session, the Japanese Communist Party held a JCP Dietmembers' assembly in the Diet building, and five members who will be up for election expressed their determination to be re-elected to the Upper House. After the assembly, JCP executives and Dietmembers together with JCP candidates took to the streets to promote the JCP at many locations across Japan.

JCP Chair Shii Kazuo in the Dietmembers' assembly stated that a remedy to the steep rise in prices will be a major campaign issue. He pointed to a Kyodo News survey indicating that 77% of respondents answered that "the price surge is negatively impacting daily lives", 64% do "not appreciate the Kishida government's countermeasures against rising prices", and 71% "will take into account policy pledges concerning the price runup as a factor in deciding which party or candidate to vote in the Upper House election".

Shii criticized the Kishida government for not lowering the consumption tax rate and for cutting pension benefits when people's livelihoods are worsening. He stated, "The Kishida government is not capable of handling the country's economy effectively."

In order to achieve a JCP advance in the July House of Councilors election, Shii called on JCP Dietmembers to work hard to increase public support for the JCP and the JCP proposal for a "kind and strong economy" by departing from Abenomics and neoliberal politics centering on large corporations.