Japan Press Weekly

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2014 December 3 - 9 [JCP]

JCP advance has most impact on Abe gov’t

Akahata Sunday edition

The Japanese Communist Party is still a minority in terms of the number of Diet seats, but the JCP presence in the Diet has a much stronger impact on Japanese politics than any other opposition party.

The entertainment magazine Weekly Post last year ran an article reading, “It is a big mistake to believe that a JCP advance cannot change politics.” The article uses the analogy: JCP’s ten seats are way more “destructive” to the regime than any ten seats occupied by other opposition parties.

In the last House of Councilors election, the JCP increased its seats from six to eleven and regained the right to submit bills in the Diet. The party immediately proposed a bill to regulate “black corporations”, motivating the Ministry of Labor to conduct an intensive fact-finding survey on cruel labor practices. As a result, labor authorities now make public the personnel turnover rate in each corporation and take countermeasures against any false information provided on job postings.

In June and November, the JCP submitted a bill to revoke the State Secrecy Law, which will come into force on December 10, jointly with the Social Democratic Party and independents. The JCP focuses on various single-issue struggles outside the Diet as well. The party actively takes part in popular movements such as to help protect the Constitution, achieve a society not depending on nuclear power generation, stop the construction of a new U.S. base in Okinawa, and oppose Japan’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

Last month, the JCP set the difference of political affiliation aside and contributed to the victories of anti-base candidates in the Okinawa gubernatorial and Naha City mayoral elections. Their success in unifying forces in the election has greatly shocked the central government.

Thus, where the conditions are right for electoral cooperation, the JCP promotes an alliance with other political forces. However, in prefectures other than Okinawa, such a condition has yet to be met. All parties are currently unwilling to face up against the Abe regime based on the common ground of opposing a consumption tax increase, the Abenomics economic policy, the collective self-defense right, the restart of nuclear power generation, and the construction of a new U.S. base in Okinawa. The Democratic Party of Japan, for example, supports a consumption tax hike. It just calls for the postponement of its introduction.

The DPJ and the Japan Innovation Party (former Japan Restoration Party) insist on cuts in the cost of government, namely calling for cuts in the number of Diet seats elected from proportional representation constituencies. The proportional representation system most accurately reflects public opinion but the proposed cuts will create a considerable number of wasted votes.

These parties will discard the diverse choice shown in proportional representation blocs before asking people to shoulder a higher tax burden under the guise of cost-cutting efforts to produce financial resources needed for social welfare programs. However, they say they will maintain the system of government subsidies distributed to political parties, which amount to 32 billion yen a year.

Past related articles:
> Anti-base candidate’s victory in Okinawa governor race delivers blow to Abe [November 17 and 18, 2014]
> JCP proposes bill to abolish State Secrets Protection Law [June 17, 2014]
> Labor turnover rate at ‘black corporations’ to be released [December 4, 2013]
> JCP proposes bill to regulate ‘black corporations’ [October 16, 2013]