Japan Press Weekly

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2019 June 26 - July 2 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Upper House election will be held on July 21

As the 150-day ordinary session of the Diet ended on June 26, the government held a Cabinet meeting and decided that the House of Councilors election campaign period will commence on July 4 and the election will be held on July 21.

At a Japanese Communist Party Dietmembers' general meeting, JCP Chair Shii Kazuo criticized the Abe government for continuing to refuse to open Budget Committee meetings in both chambers. Shii called on all the JCP Dietmembers present, "Let's have a showdown with the ruling parties in the coming election!" Out of 14 JCP members of the Upper House, eight will be running for reelection. The eight expressed their enthusiasm for the election campaign.

After the JCP Dietmembers' general meeting, they and the party executives went to different parts of the country and participated in street rallies and speeches with candidates of local and regional electoral districts.

In Tokyo, outside JR Shinjuku Station, Chair Shii together with Kira Yoshiko who will stand for reelection in the Tokyo constituency, appealed to the audience for their support. Kira said, "I ask for your support to ensure my second term. I will continue to convey your concerns and demands to the Diet."

A woman who heard the JCP street speech as she got off the bus said that she is concerned about constitutional revision and pension issues. The 75-year-old woman said, "Cutbacks in the amount of pension benefits are like bullying the weak. I just don't have 20 million yen in savings that the government says I should have. I'm absolutely opposed to war. I want the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution to stay intact."

A female office worker in her 40s who heard about this street speech on Twitter said, "Article 9 must be protected. I don't want any SDF personnel to go to war."

A self-employed businessman from Nagano who just happened to be visiting Tokyo said he counts on the continued electoral cooperation among opposition parties.

A woman in her mid-50s said, "Nursing-care workers are paid low wages. This situation must be addressed."