JCP has played role of ‘reliable opposition party’ in this Diet session: Shii

   On July 5, the ordinary session of the Diet closed and all parties began campaigning for the House of Councilors election scheduled for July 29.

   In the Japanese Communist Party Dietmembers’ Group meeting on the same day, Chair Shii Kazuo said, “Throughout this Diet session, the Abe Liberal Democratic and Komei parties’ government has aggravated its crisis as if it was falling downhill. Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has failed to appropriately deal with every issue, calling his ability to run the government into serious question. “

   Shii pointed out that the tyranny of numbers which the Abe Cabinet has arbitrarily imposed on the Diet also shows the weakness of his government.

   With respect to former Defense Minister Kyuma Fumio’s resignation, Shii said, “Mr. Kyuma’s view that the use of nuclear weapons ‘couldn’t be helped’ has been shared by the successive LDP governments. At the United Nations General Assembly last December the Japanese government abstained from voting on two resolutions calling for banning the use of nuclear weapons.”

   In this Diet session, Shii emphasized, the JCP was able to make its presence felt by playing the role as the “only reliable opposition party” in the areas particularly concerning: (1) the pension mismanagement; (2) increasing poverty and social gap; (3) constitutional revision; and (4) political corruption.

   Shii called on the JCP Dietmembers to make every effort to achieve a JCP victory in the House of Councilors election with the slogan, “Vote for the JCP, the only reliable opposition party, in order to fight against increasing poverty and defend Article 9.”                                - Akahata, July 6, 2007