 JCP wins a single-seat constituency in a local election In the Joetsu City Assembly election in Niigata Prefecture on February 13, the Japanese Communist Party won a single-seat constituency that was contested by three candidates. Hashizume Norikazu gained 6.7 times more votes than the JCP gained in the House of Councilors proportional representation election last year. In another two-seat constituency, in which eight candidates contested for two seats, JCP candidate Ueno Koetsu was the runner-up although he increased the number of votes by 430 percent from what the JCP got in the Lower House proportional representation election last year. On the same day, the JCP won an extra number of seats in other local assembly elections. In Takashima City in Shiga Prefecture where the number of city assembly seats was cut from 78 to 30, three JCP candidates were elected. In Nishinoomote City, Kagoshima Prefecture, where the number of seats was cut by two, the JCP succeeded in defending its two seats. In Kashiwara City in Osaka, a new JCP candidate won the by-election, adding one to the previous three JCP seats in the city assembly. In the Namioka Town mayoral election in Aomori Prefecture in which the major issue was a merger with Aomori City, anti-merger candidate Komura Kazuo, supported by the JCP and the Social Democratic Party, was elected mayor. (end) |