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2015 October 21 - 27 TOP3 [JCP]

JCP doubles its seats to 8 in Miyagi pref. assembly election

The Japanese Communist Party doubled its seats from four to eight in the Miyagi prefectural assembly election held on October 25, driving the Liberal Democratic Party into failure in holding onto its majority in the assembly. The election results have shocked the LDP and the Komei Party.

In the race in which 86 candidates competed for 59 seats, the JCP won eight seats and became the second largest party in the assembly. The party acquired the rights to submit ordinance bills to the assembly and participate in the session of party representatives’ questions. In four constituencies, the party obtained a seat for the first time. The number of votes the party received increased by 33.6% from the previous election.

The LDP, in contrast, reduced its seats by four to 27, falling short of holding the majority of the seats in the assembly. The Komei Party secured four seats, maintaining its strength. The voter turnout was 40.03%.

JCP Secretariat Head Yamashita Yoshiki held a press conference on the following day in the Diet building and commented regarding the election results, saying that public anger against the Abe administration “appeared in the form of high expectations for the JCP”.

As the contents of the general consensus the central government reached in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations became known to the public, the breach of the LDP’s policy pledge also became visible to everyone. Many voters seemed to be deeply disappointed with the betrayal, said Yamashita.

He pointed out that the JCP informed voters of its proposal for “a provisional coalition government” during the election campaign as a means to repeal the security legislation which the LDP and the Komei railroaded through in the last Diet session, and that the proposal invited favorable reactions among voters.

“I also felt that many prefectural residents one after another joined hands with each other to support the JCP candidates, regardless of their political affiliations or ideology,” he remarked.

Yamashita concluded that the JCP advance in Miyagi “will help bring about true recovery from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami”.

On the day after the election, the local newspaper Kahoku Shimpo reported that the JCP made great strides, and that support for the JCP spread rapidly for doggedly opposing the security legislation. The Asahi Shimbun also reported that the controversy over the security legislation highlighted the “JCP versus LDP” structure, and that focusing the campaign on opposing the legislation gave the victory to the JCP.

Past related articles:
> All 7 JCP candidates win in Nagano City Assembly election [September 15, 2015]
> JCP wins three seats in Iwate prefectural assembly election [September 8, 2015]
> All 5 JCP candidates win in Morioka City Assembly election [August 25, 2015]
> JCP candidate wins mayoral election in Hyogo [August 11, 2015]
> All 7 JCP candidates win in Sendai City Assembly election [August 4, 2015]
> All 4 JCP candidates win seats in Fukushima City Assembly election [July 14, 2015]
> JCP gains 62 more seats in 2nd half of local elections [April 28, 2015]
> As a result of first half of local elections, JCP establishes its presence in all prefectural assemblies [April 14, 2015]
> JCP 1st-time candidate ranks 1st in town election [February 22, 2015]
> JCP candidate wins JCP-LDP showdown in Kitakyushu City by-election [January 27, 2015]