Japan Press Weekly

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2024 October 9 - 15 [POLITICS]

JCP: We will ‘do our utmost to respond’ to 5-item agenda put forth by Civil Alliance

Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Tamura Tomoko on October 7 met with representatives of the Civil Alliance in the Diet building and told them that the JCP will “do its utmost to respond” to their 5-item agenda.

The 5-item agenda includes:
- Oppose military buildup as it ignores both the Constitution and public safety
- Implement economic policies which protect citizens’ livelihoods
- Realize gender equality and guarantee human rights
- Strengthen countermeasures against climate change and promote energy conversion
- Conduct fair and open politics based on adherence to constitutionalism

During the meeting, Sasaki Hiroshi of the Civil Alliance, professor at Niigata University of International and Information Studies, said, “The JCP, throughout your history of more than 100 years, has consistently opposed war. We ask for your cooperation once again in the joint struggle of concerned citizens with opposition parties in order to block the government’s attempt to turn Japan into a war-capable state.”

Looking back on the joint struggle in previous national elections, Tamura said, “The abolition of the national security-related legislation (war laws) and the restoration of constitutionalism were the starting point of our joint struggle. On this basis, we together enriched other basic policies.”

However, in this upcoming general election, Tamura continued, “We’d like to take on the challenge to open up the prospects for a change in government while each political party plays its own role in cornering the LDP.” She stated, “For the development of the joint struggle, a JCP advance in the coming election will be absolutely necessary.”

JCP Secretariat Head Koike Akira referred to the fact that President of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan Noda Yoshihiko states that the war legislation cannot be repealed immediately and needs to be verified. Koike said, “The abolition of the war laws is the basis of our joint struggle and is supposed to be an urgent task that we should take on to stop the proposed huge military buildup.”

He pointed out, “The basis of the joint struggle has been in a shaky state for some time and this was brought into sharp relief by Noda’s statement.”

Explaining that the JCP will put up its own candidate in as many single-seat constituencies as possible, but in some prefectures will maintain the opposition parties’ joint struggle judging from the past campaign history, Koike asked for the understanding of the Civil Alliance.

Past related article:
> JCP Koike: JCP will conduct election campaign from its own standpoint [October 6, 2024]