Shii talks about LDP presidential election and DPJ-Liberal Party merger

In an interview by Asahi Newstar satellite broadcast aired on September 11, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo discussed the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election and the merger of the Democratic and Liberal parties. Following are excerpts from Shii's remarks:

Power struggle within corrupted LDP is unrelated to what citizens want

About the LDP presidential election, I think it is distanced from the problems which the majority of people are longing to have solved.

In a recent Cabinet Office survey on living conditions, 67.2 percent of the respondents, the highest ever, said they feel anxious about everyday life. As this number suggests, many people urgently need their anxiety about living conditions to be reduced.

Also witnessing the Iraq war, citizens have started to wonder if it will be okay for Japan to continue its U.S.-subservient politics.

In the LDP presidential election, every candidate is discussing "structural reform" as the way to ease citizens' worries about their everyday life. However, nobody raises objections to the current cut-throat economic measures which promote corporate restructuring, bankrupt smaller businesses, and cut budgets for social services.

All election candidates are also claiming that the Japan-U.S. alliance is the cornerstone of Japan's foreign policy, even though the U.S.-subservient politics has been called into question.

Therefore, the discussions taking place in the LDP presidential election are far removed from what the citizens expect politicians to do. Clearly, the election is little short of a power struggle within the corrupted LDP politics.

Policies to 'change LDP politics' are necessary as opposition parties

Opposition parties should show people alternative policies from the LDP in the fields of both foreign and domestic affairs.

Our party, for example, calls for a review of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty to move forward to build an independent and neutral Japan, and stands firm against further reinforcement of the structure of this military alliance.

On domestic affairs, we call for a recovery of Japan's economy by changing from the current "reform" harming people's livelihoods to a "reform" in the interests of people.

To be honest, I cannot see the DPJ-LP merger showing the people policies to change the LDP politics. This is the problem, I think.

We have worked together with the DPJ and LP in some cases and achieved certain progress. We will keep this joint struggle when necessary. However, without an enthusiasm to change the underlying framework of LDP politics, it does not respond to people's expectations in the true sense of the term.

We will maintain the "anti-LDP" common ground. There may be a lot of possibilities.

However, when considering a course of Japan, things will change. Attitudes towards the Japan-U.S. alliance, the wartime legislation, the Constitution, and the so-called structural reform are, for example, different among us. All opposition parties except for the JCP have not established a position to break through the LDP framework. On this point, we will actively debate with other opposition parties. (end)