June 5, 2025

Japanese Communist Party representative Shimizu Tadashi, former Lower House lawmaker, was invited to give a lecture at a “mock election” class taken place as part of voter education at a private high school in Higashiosaka City (Osaka Pref.) on June 4.

JCP Shimizu and others from the LDP, Ishin, and Reiwa parties lectured on sovereignty to 160 third-year Shoin Senior High School students.

In his lecture, Shimizu presented the JCP initiatives aimed at eliminating discrimination against sexual minorities and protecting fundamental human rights. He stated that the JCP is committed to engaging in Diet debates in order to legalize same-sex marriage and implement a selective dual-surname system for married couples as soon as possible. Shimizu talked about the party’s policies, focusing on gender equality issues, including its policy proposal to eradicate acts of sexual molestation and sexual violence.

He said to the students, “You may be indifferent to politics, but you cannot be irrelevant to it. I hope all of you will familiarize yourselves with your rights under the Constitution, which Dietmembers are duty-bound to uphold, and have a fulfilling future.”