September 8, 2026

A Japanese Communist Party candidate on September 6 won in the Katano City Assembly by-election in Osaka. The JCP regained the one seat it had lost in the previous election, securing three seats in the 15-member assembly.

In the Kami City Assembly election, held on the same day in Kochi Prefecture and contested for 18 seats, all five JCP candidates were elected. The JCP retained its existing strength.

During the election campaign in Kami City, the five candidates pledged to freeze water rate hikes, reduce the financial burden of national health and nursing-care insurance premiums, reinstate grant-based scholarships for high school students, and improve public transport, including “welfare taxis”, while outlining the financial sources needed to fulfill these pledges.

JCP branch members and supporters in the city campaigned to attract support from the entire electorate. One voter said, “JCP representatives and ordinary members are the only ones who repeatedly visit our remote mountain hamlet with five households. We rely on the JCP.”