July 17, 2015

The ruling Liberal Democratic and Komei parties on July 16 in the House of Representatives plenary session railroaded through the controversial war bills with their majority vote and sent the bills to the House of Councilors.

Following the forcible passage of the bills, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo expressed the party’s determination to block the enactment of the bills by encouraging further public protest.

Members of three opposition parties - the JCP, the Democratic Party of Japan, and the Social Democratic Party - walked out of the chamber in protest against the vote. Japan Innovation Party members also left the room after the party’s bill was voted down. The People’s Life Party absented itself from the session.

The opposition party legislators who walked out in protest held a rally in the Diet building. Leaders of the JCP and DPJ as well as representatives of the SDP and PLP gave speeches resolving to work hard together with the general public to kill the bills in the Upper House.

The JCP later held its Dietmembers’ meeting in the Diet building. JCP Chair Shii pointed out that unlike treaties and budget drafts, bills are things that are not enacted automatically.

Shii said that the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Abe Shinzo will use its force of numbers in the Upper House to enact the bills. If it fails to railroad through the bills there, it will then seek to use the parliamentary rule enabling them to override the Upper House decision with more than two-thirds of Lower House members voting for the bills, he added. Shii called on JCP lawmakers to make efforts to increase public opposition and push the ruling parties to give up bulldozing through the bills and flagrantly disregarding public opinion.

Past related articles:
> Young voices against war legislation echo across Japan [July 11-14, 2015]
> War bills face criticism from unsworn witnesses in Diet hearing in Okinawa [July 7, 2015]