Japan Press Weekly

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2015 April 1 - 7 [POLITICS]

Abe’s war legislation emerges as key issue in upcoming nationwide local elections

In the ongoing campaign for the first half of nationwide local elections, political parties’ stance toward Abe’s war legislation which enables Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to join U.S.-led wars has emerged as a major issue.

The first half of the elections in 41 prefectural and 17 major city assemblies will be held on April 12.

The Japanese Communist Party in the ongoing election campaign expresses its firm opposition to the government’s move to introduce war legislation. JCP members and supporters are appealing to voters by saying, “To vote for the Liberal Democratic Party is to vote for wars. To vote for JCP candidates is to vote for peace.”

The ruling LDP in the election campaign so far said nothing about the PM’s attempt to create war legislation and only focused on the claim that PM Abe’s economic policies, Abenomics, have brought about favorable outcomes.

The Komei Party, which claims to be a political party promoting peace, has agreed with the introduction of war legislation as the LDP’s coalition partner, and is using anti-communist propaganda in the ongoing election drive. It appears that the party intends to hide its role of helping the prime minister promote his pro-military policy.

The Japan Innovation Party, the second largest opposition party in the Diet, is acting as a complement to the Abe government. Osaka City Mayor and top advisor to the JIP Hashimoto Toru has supported Prime Minister Abe by saying, “Constitutional revision is absolutely essential. I will do everything I can do to accomplish that.”

The largest opposition force, the Democratic Party of Japan recently began expressing objections to war legislation. However, at the time of the Cabinet decision to lift the ban on Japan’s use of the collective self-defense right last July, some DPJ Dietmembers tried to come up with a law in line with the Cabinet decision.

Furthermore, the DPJ is a part of the “all-are-ruling-parties” structure together with the LDP and the Komei Party in 32 out of the 47 prefectures in Japan.