April 9, 2019

In the first round of nationwide simultaneous local elections held on April 7, the Japanese Communist Party secured 99 seats in 41 prefectural assemblies, down 12 seats from the previous election four years ago. The total number of JCP seats in 17 major city assemblies fell by 21 to 115.

In the prefectural assembly elections, the JCP obtained a total of more than two million votes, up 24.4% compared with the votes cast for the party in the 2017 House of Representatives proportional representation election. In the major city assembly elections, the JCP received 910,000 votes in total, 10.2% more votes than the JCP obtained in these cities in the 2017 general election.

In the Wakayama Prefectural Assembly election, a JCP candidate defeated a Liberal Democratic Party incumbent in a single-seat race in the Gobo electoral district. This contributed to doubling the JCP seats from the pre-election strength of two.

Furthermore, in Toyama Prefecture, the JCP for the first time in 40 years won multiple seats in the prefectural assembly election, a one seat increase from the previous election. In addition, in prefectural assembly elections in Saitama, Shiga, Kochi, and Oita, the JCP succeeded in adding seats to its pre-election strength. On the other hand, in the Aichi Prefectural Assembly election, the JCP won no seats.

In terms of the rate of female members among newly-elected assemblymembers, the JCP ranked at the top both among prefectural assemblymembers (51.22%) and among major city assemblymembers (52.17%).

In 11 gubernatorial races and six major city mayoral races which were also held on the same day, JCP candidates and JCP-backed candidates fought a good fight.

The JCP Standing Executive Committee on April 8 published a statement in regard to the party’s fight in the first round of nationwide simultaneous local elections.

The statement points out that during the election campaign, the JCP called on voters to put an end to anti-people Abe government policies and change local politics to one focusing on people’s livelihoods by pointing out that the “LDP/Komei versus the JCP” political landscape is basically the picture of the current political situation in Japan.

More specifically, the JCP proclaimed to voters that a JCP advance will lead to blocking the planned consumption tax hike to 10%, easing the burden of the national health insurance tax, and having local governments play their essential role of promotion of residents’ welfare. The party emphasized that a vote for the JCP will work to protect Article 9 of the Constitution and peace. This JCP position attracted voters’ attention and increased support for the JCP, the executive committee surmised.

The statement also notes that in election campaign speeches, JCP candidates emphasized the importance of the JCP presence in local assemblies and received favorable responses. The statement concludes, “Based on these experiences, let us work even harder to win a major JCP advance in the second round of nationwide local elections.”