 Upper House must reflect citizens' voices: JCP Ichida At the January 26 House of Councilors plenary session, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi called for an Upper House reform so as to reflect various opinions. Ichida pointed out that the problem is that parliamentary groups with less than 10 Upper House members are only allowed to question the government's policy speeches in the plenary session and speak at the audit committee meeting during the regular Diet sessions. Referring to increasing public opposition to tax increases and a revision of Article 9, Ichida stressed, "Only by reflecting these opinions can the House of Councilors play a role as a parliament representing people's interests." (end) |