Japan Press Weekly

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2008 January 23 - 29 [POLITICS]

JCP is No.1 in presenting signatures to Diet during its extraordinary session

During the extraordinary session of the Diet that ended on January 15, the Japanese Communist Party was entrusted with and presented to the Diet petitions bearing about 5.4 million signatures, which accounted for 34 percent of all signatures in petitions submitted, the largest number among all parties.

The Democratic Party presented about 4.8 million signatures (30 percent), and the Liberal Democratic Party presented about 4.5 million (29 percent).

Petitions concerning social securities, including nursing care, healthcare, and pension systems, were signed by about 3 million people, and 59 percent of them or about 1.8 million were submitted by the JCP.

The JCP presented about 259,000, or 76 percent of about 341,000 signatures signed for petitions against adverse revision of the Constitution. It also presented 58 percent (about 700,000) of 1.2 million signatures for petitions against massive tax increases, including consumption tax hikes.

The JCP submitted 10 out of 17 petitions approved by the House of Councilors. These include petitions which only the JCP submitted, such as petitions calling for the creation of a system to provide citizens in need with heating oil as an urgent measure to deal with oil price hikes and calling for the improvement in treatment of part-time workers.