Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2011 January 12 - 18 [JCP]

JCP publishes nationwide local elections policies

Japanese Communist Party Policy Commission Chair Koike Akira announced the JCP basic policies for the nationwide simultaneous local elections slated for April at a press conference in the Diet building on January 13.

The document is entitled, “With the JCP’s advance, create local politics where residents are the key players.”

Koike said that the root cause of the current stagnant conditions in politics and society is the two abnormal characteristics of government policy: subordination to the U.S. government and the arbitrary control of business circles, and that only the JCP is capable of changing the fundamental cause of social inequality. “We will call on voters to break through the stagnation and create a new course of politics together with the JCP,” he stressed.

Pointing out that the Democratic Party of Japan-led government is trying to abolish the national minimum standards for public services that local governments are required to meet, Koike said that this will lead to a further deterioration of local governments’ role in defending the well-being and living standards of residents.

Koike also said that in many local assemblies, the “all-are ruling party” setup, in which all parties except the JCP are collaborating, is following the central government in throwing out their task of providing public services for their residents. He stressed the need for the JCP to achieve an advance in the nationwide local elections as the only progressive force to confront the structure of power and lead efforts to realize residents’ urgent demands.

The JCP calls for the following four changes to be made in local politics:
(i) give top priority to improving residents’ welfare and living conditions;
(ii) promote local industries;
(iii) block Japan’s entrance into the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership pact) and revitalize local agriculture, forestry, and fisheries;
(iv) create local assemblies that reflect residents’ voices.