Japan Press Weekly

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2015 December 16 - 22 [POLITICS]

Many local newspapers urge opposition parties to come together in upcoming election

More and more local newspapers are now focusing on the currently ongoing citizens’ calls for cooperation among opposition parties in next summer’s House of Councilors election, and many of their editorials say that opposition parties should heed these calls.

Yamagata Shimbun on December 19 editorialized that the Democratic Party, the Japanese Communist Party, and the Social Democratic Party could be a strong force to receive protest votes against the Abe government if they work together. Regarding hesitancy or opposition toward a joint effort with the JCP, the newspaper warned that the lack of broad unity among opposition parties would only benefit the ruling parties.

Judging from a series of JCP advances in recent local elections, the conventional allergy to the communist party and many other anti-communist practices may no longer be in effect, according to the Tokyo Shimbun editorial of December 12.

It is the Shinano Mainichi Shimbun which predicts that the war legislation will be the biggest issue in the election. The Nagano-based local newspaper on December 12 said that various civic groups and the JCP which is willing to promote electoral cooperation are calling for the revocation of the security legislation by means of joint struggles in elections. The paper encouraged the opposition parties to prioritize the issue of the war laws.

Referring to the emerging nationwide movement of citizens’ organizations looking for joint opposition candidates, the Kyoto Shimbun on December 11 underlined the need for opposition parties to put aside differences in individual policies and respond to the call for oppositional unity by a broad range of people.

The Kobe Shimbun on December 11 called for the creation of a cross-party collaboration in the election.

The Hokkaido Shimbun on December 9 highlighted the fact that many citizens have participated in rallies and demonstrations in protest against the security legislation, and that irrespective of their political affiliation they have demanded that Japan maintain its pacifist principles. The need now is for the opposition parties to convey this popular will to the Diet, the local paper stated.