Japan Press Weekly

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2016 June 22 - 28 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Opposition parties/citizens alliance kicks off election battle against Abe-led anti-constitutional forces

Campaigning for the July 10 House of Councilors election officially kicked off on June 22. The Japanese Communist Party sees the election as a golden opportunity for the opposition alliance and citizens united to put a stop to PM Abe’s runaway policies.

In this election, the JCP is putting up 42 candidates in the proportional representation blocs, and 14 in prefectural constituencies which include the single-member Kagawa constituency. In the other 31 single-seat constituencies, the JCP will actively collaborate with three other opposition parties and civil groups to achieve their joint candidates’ victory.

On the first day of the election campaign at a kick-off rally held near Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station, JCP Chair Shii Kazuo expressed his determination to achieve success with the cooperation between political parties and citizens’ groups and increase the JCP’s strength in the Upper House.

Shii pointed to constitutional revision and “Abenomics” economic policies as major issues in this election. Shii called on voters to deliver a severe verdict to Abe’s ambition for revising Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution. Pointing out that the failure of “Abenomics” has become obvious, Shii said that in order to recover the Japanese economy, the JCP proposes to change pro-business economic policies to ones under which tax revenues collected through a fair tax system will be used to support people’s livelihoods. Shii also called for a change in labor policies with the aim of tightening work hour rules and increasing the minimum wage to at least 1,000 yen.

Stating that a JCP advance is necessary to further promote the collaboration between the opposition parties and citizens, Shii called on the audience to increase their support for the JCP.

The joint candidates running in the 32 single-seat constituencies across Japan appealed to voters for their support.

In Kagawa, opposition-backed JCP candidate Tanabe Ken’ichi will contest one seat with his Liberal Democratic Party rival. At his kick-off rally, he expressed his determination, saying that as a joint opposition candidate he will work hard to win the race. JCP Diet Policy Commission Chair Kokuta Keiji and local officials of the Democratic and Social Democratic parties delivered speeches in support of Tanabe.

In PM Abe’s hometown of Yamaguchi Prefecture, the joint opposition candidate and former Yamaguchi University vice president, Koketsu Atsushi, held a kick-off rally with support from political parties and civil groups. JCP Vice Chair Yamashita Yoshiki, former PM Kan Naoto of the Democratic Party, and former Social Democratic Party parliamentarian Kaneko Tetsuo in turn called on voters to vote for Koketsu.

Past related articles:
> JCP announces election platform focusing on abolition of unconstitutional war laws [June 10, 2016]
> 4 parties and Civil Alliance confirm many policies in common in addition to scrapping war laws [June 8, 2016]
> Joint opposition candidates finally chosen in all single-seat constituencies for upcoming Upper House election [June 1, 2016]