JCP Shii comments on Koizumi's reelection

Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro was re-elected as Liberal Democratic Party president on September 20.

Japanese Communist Party Executive Chair Shii Kazuo on the same day published his comments on Koizumi's re-election as follows:

"Two and a half years ago, Koizumi declared, 'I will destroy the LDP,' but what he actually destroyed were people's living conditions, peace, and the Constitution. Reelecting a person who declares to maintain policies that have already proved to be failed as LDP president is symbolic of the LDP politics at an impasse.

"During the LDP presidential election campaign, Koizumi didn't even show a single vision for Japan in the 21st century, except for the danger that the Constitution may be adversely revised and the consumption tax rate increased. We cannot allow such misgovernment to continue.

"The JCP will stand firm against the Koizumi-led LDP politics to get rid of anxieties about life, break away from U.S. pressed-politics, and defend the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution. In the coming general election, the JCP will call for a public verdict on Koizumi politics and help voters understand the JCP's political line and policies to fundamentally change the LDP politics. The JCP will seek to make great strides in the election."

On September 21, JCP Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi commented that the new LDP executive lineup will fail to meet people's expectations. (end)