JCP Chair calls for greater effort to win Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Election

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

JCP Chair calls for greater effort to win Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Election

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on April 27spoke at a rally held in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, to step up the campaign for victory in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election scheduled for July 12.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election will be a confrontation between the 'all-are-ruling-parties' platform that includes the Liberal Democratic, Komei, and Democratic parties, and the opposition JCP.

The JCP is the only party that worked hard to defend Tokyo citizens' interests by opposing the policies of Governor Ishihara Shintaro and the 'all-are-ruling-parties' scheme that put priority on large-scale development rather than protecting residents' livelihood.

Shii said that JCP Tokyo Assembly members have "three invaluable roles" to play: reinvigorating Tokyo's social services, medical services, and education, eliminating the wasteful use of tax money, and changing the Tokyo Metropolitan Government policy through joint actions with concerned Tokyo citizens.

Shii emphasized, "If the JCP makes advance in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, the JCP will be in a position to further the interests of the residents."

Regarding the situation about the up-coming general election, Shii pointed out that the campaign which insists on choosing whether the Liberal Democratic or the Democratic is starting to lose its appeal.

Shii called on participants to force a change in the status quo so that people can live in safety and with hope by helping to achieve a major JCP advance in the general election.

- Akahata, April 28, 2009