JCP Secretariat head urges prime minister to assist in people's living conditions

"The first thing the government must do now is directly assist in improving the living conditions of the working people, who are the key players of the nation's economy."

This is what Ichida Tadayoshi, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat head, told Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro during his questioning in the House of Councilors Plenary Session on October 23.

Ichida also used his question time to describe the hardships many people are experiencing as a result of government policies of shifting heavier burdens onto them even though their incomes are declining.

Ichida said that in the past year, 250,000 more people were forced out of jobs as a result of the government policy of pushing the banks to "write-off bad loans" without delay, and that working people's household incomes have fell 9-trillion yen.

Ichida reminded Koizumi that in 1997 the Hashimoto Cabinet forced the people to accept an extra burden of 9-trillion yen, leading the nation's economy to stagnation.

He also criticized the prime minister for talking about the need for a "safety net" without taking any steps to stop further increases in unemployment and business failures. (end)