Japan Press Weekly

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2014 June 18 - 24 [JCP]

All 5 JCP candidates win Tachikawa City assembly election

All five Japanese Communist Party candidates won seats in the Tachikawa City Assembly election on June 22 in Tokyo, increasing the number of its seats from four to five.

The JCP became the third largest party in the local assembly after the Liberal Democratic and Komei parties.

While the voter turnout fell by 7.46 percentage points from the previous election four years ago, the JCP gained 1,473 more votes and its share of votes hit a record high of 16.94%.

During the election campaign, the JCP candidates pledged to oppose Prime Minster Abe’s move to lift the ban on Japan’s exercise of the collective self-defense right and Tachikawa City’s attempt to impose higher national health insurance premiums on residents.

On the night of the election, JCP city assembly members’ group head Kamijo Shoichi said that during the campaign he met many citizens saying they do not want Japan to be turned into a war fighting nation. He stressed that not only old people who experienced the suffering during WWII but also young people are expressing their concern about PM Abe’s aggressive move.

Nakamachi Satoshi, who won a seat for the first time, stated, “Local shop owners are crying out against the planned increase in the national health insurance premium rate. I was self-employed, so I know very well that the higher the rate gets, the more difficult it will be for businesses to survive.”

A 32-year-old JCP supporter, who was born in and grew up in the city, said, “As the Abe Cabinet is intensifying its runaway policies, I believe the JCP’s larger presence in the assembly is vital. So, I did my utmost to achieve a JCP advance during the election campaign. I am elated to see all the JCP candidates being elected.”