Japan Press Weekly

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2013 June 26 - July 2 [JCP]

JCP has largest number of women representatives of any party in Tokyo assembly

The Japanese Communist Party became the third largest party in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly as a result of the June 23 election by increasing its seats from eight to 17 which include 11 seats held by women, the largest number of female members of any party in the assembly.

Whenever the JCP achieved a major advance in elections, many female candidates won their seats. In the 1965 Tokyo assembly race, for example, a victory of three JCP female candidates brought to the party an increase in its seats from two to nine.

At present, of 112 JCP members in prefectural assemblies, 57 or 50.89% are women.

Why does the JCP have so many female members in local assemblies?

JCP members in general engage in activities in various fields related to people’s livelihoods on a daily basis. Half of such members are women. Looking at female candidates winning in this Tokyo assembly election alone, they have a broad variety of backgrounds such as childcare workers, medical service workers, teachers, social insurance specialists, and full-time JCP staff.

The JCP has demanded that universal suffrage be granted to men and women aged 18 years old and over since its foundation in the pre-war period when women were exempted from entitlement to exercise their rights. Furthermore, in line with the party Program seeking to achieve gender equality, the JCP has been working to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and social fields as well as in households.

As a reflection of these activities, the JCP nominates many female members as candidates in national and local level elections.