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2014 September 24 - 30 [POLITICS]

JCP candidate for local assembly election attracts support from ex-Komei vice chairperson

A former vice representative of the Komei Party in an Akahata interview on September 29 expressed his support for a Japanese Communist Party candidate running in the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly election scheduled for December.

Futami Nobuaki, 79, who served as the Komei Party’s vice representative and transport minister and who is now living in Ibaraki’s Tsukuba City, met JCP candidate Yamanaka Taiko through local environmental activities. He is working for her victory in the coming prefectural assembly election.

Following is an excerpt from his interview.

To continue cooperation based on agreement on various issues, the “single-issue struggle” in JCP-speak, will lower barriers against the JCP.

In Okinawa, the U.S. base relocation issue has built a broad consensus among people regardless of whether they are conservative or progressive. In order to bring down the Abe administration, people across Japan should unite against PM Abe’s four main moves: resumption of nuclear power generation; a consumption tax increase to 10%, Japan’s exercise of the collective self-defense right and constitutional revision, and further promotion of large corporation-oriented “Abenomics” economic measures.

These four moves will also become major issues in the prefectural assembly election.

Currently, those who represent Tsukuba City in the prefectural assembly are Liberal Democratic and Komei party members.

The prefectural assembly election in December is regarded as a prelude to next spring’s nationwide simultaneous local elections. In this election, if the JCP candidate wins a seat in Tsukuba City, it will reflect voters’ “No” verdict on the Abe government which intends to accelerate its runaway policies.