Japan Press Weekly

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2015 October 28 - November 3 [JCP]

Shii: JCP proposal for ‘national coalition gov’t’ is attracting widespread support

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on October 27 gave a speech at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, talking about Japan’s political situation that has evolved in the past month since the JCP announced a proposal to form “a national coalition government to repeal the war legislation”.

Saying that he feels Japan’s politics has entered “a new period” for change, Shii pointed out several features.

Shii stated that citizens’ movements opposing the war legislation are expanding after it was enacted in September, citing the massive street action which SEALDs (Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy-s) held on October 18 near Tokyo’s Shibuya Station and a monthly protest rally in front of the Diet building which was launched on October 19 by a wide range of civic groups, including the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren). “These moves have a possibility of developing into a great public campaign to fundamentally change Japan’s politics,” he stressed.

Referring to recent opinion polls, Shii noted that the JCP proposal is being welcomed by many people. “With our initiative, the move toward a joint struggle by opposition parties to abolish the war legislation is growing further,” he said.

As an example of recent cooperation among opposition forces, the JCP head mentioned the fact that five opposition parties including the JCP held an exchange meeting with civil organizations opposing the security legislation and that those opposition parties jointly demanded that the Abe government convene an extraordinary Diet session without delay.

Noting that the JCP proposal is also attracting international interest, Shii said that his speech on October 15 at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan has evoked a favorable response and that he received many questions about the proposal from the South Korean media during his four-day visit there in October.

“Even though there are many difficulties ahead of us, we will continue our efforts to attain agreement with other opposition parties,” he added.

Past related article:
> Shii answers foreign reporters’ questions about JCP proposal to form ‘national coalition gov’t to repeal war legislation’ [October 17, 2015]