November 11, 2025

Japanese Communist Party Central Committee Chair Shii Kazuo, at a gathering held on November 9 in Nagoya City by municipal workers in Aichi Prefecture, delivered a lecture in which he said, “Let us work to put an end to the endless government administrations which destroy municipalities, drive down conditions of municipal workers, and cut services for residents.”

Shii pointed out that the underlying cause of the difficulties municipal workers are experiencing is the government’s long-standing pro-business policies. He said that as stipulated under Article 1 of the Local Autonomy Act, local governments exist to “promote the welfare of their residents”. However, he said, in the 1980s, neoliberal politics began forcing municipal governments to abandon their fundamental roles.

Shii said that in the 1990s, such controversial politics went into full swing in line with the idea that “anything which large corporations regard as an obstacle to their global profits should be eliminated.” As an example, he cited the 1995 proposal by the Japanese Employers’ Federation (Nikkeiren, currently Keidanren) for labor deregulation which caused the expansion of non-regular employment; the 1997 guidelines for local administrative reform which turned municipal governments into “for-profit entities”; the 2005 version of the guidelines which promoted massive municipal job cuts in municipalities and the outsourcing of public services; and the 2018 report by the Internal Affairs Ministry study group on strategies for local governments in 2040 which proposed that municipalities utilize information technology and halve the number of their workers.

Shii in conclusion said, “I’d like to express my heartfelt respect for all of you who work hard as ‘servants of the whole’, as stated under Article 15 of the Constitution, while fighting to improve your rights and livelihoods,” adding, “Japan now stands at a historical turning point. Let us join hands to change society.”