Japan Press Weekly

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2014 February 26 - March 4 [JCP]

JCP candidate wins in Saitama by-election

In the March 3 Saitama Prefectural Assembly by-election, a Japanese Communist Party candidate won with 16,952 votes or 28.15% of the total votes cast. The JCP increased its number of seats in the prefectural assembly to three from its pre-election strength of two seats.

The 45-year-old JCP candidate, Okuda Tomoko, contested for two available seats with her rivals, a former Liberal Democratic Party member of the Kawaguchi City Assembly and a former Your Party member of the prefectural assembly. She came in second after the LDP candidate.

During the election campaign, the JCP candidate attracted voters by criticizing the runway policies of the Abe Cabinet. As a mother, she also pledged to improve child-rearing assistance and obtained support from voters concerned with this particular issue.

Following the election results, Okuda said, “When I served as a Hatogaya City Assembly member, I focused my efforts on how to improve the city government’s policies in regard to child rearing, education, and the environment. I will keep trying my best to meet voters’ expectations in the prefectural assembly.”