 81 JCP candidates elected in 46 municipalities In the April 24 local elections, 81 Japanese Communist Party candidates were elected to 46 municipal assemblies, increasing the share of JCP seats in local assemblies from 5.41 percent to 5.87 percent. The Liberal Democratic Party secured only 35 seats, 58 for Komei, eight for the Democratic Party of Japan, and 11 for the Social Democratic Party. In Hanno City (Saitama Pref.), Kamakura City (Kanagawa Pref.), Matsue City (Shimane Pref.), Iida and Saku cities (Nagano Pref.), Iwata and Fukuroi cities (Shizuoka Pref.) and Ihara City (Okayama Pref.), all the JCP candidates were elected. In the Hita City (Oita Pref.) Assembly election, a JCP incumbent was on top with a six-fold increase in votes from that in the last Upper House proportional representation election. In the Ono City Assembly (Oita Pref.), also an incumbent maintained his seat, getting a five-fold increase in votes. A candidate for the Marugame City Assembly (Kagawa Pref.) won by a large margin with a 5.72-fold increase in the number of votes from that in the previous Upper House proportional representation election. In the Yonabaru Town Assembly (Okinawa Pref.), the JCP recovered two seats with a 1.64-fold increase in the number of votes, regaining the right to submit ordinances to the assembly, although six seats were cut. Also, in the Hakuba Village Assembly (Nagano Pref.), the JCP regained a seat and the right to submit JCP-proposed ordinances. Unfortunately, only one out of three JCP candidates was elected to the Toyama City Assembly. (Akahata April 26, 2005) |