April 11, 2026

The Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party held a meeting in the Diet building on April 10 to discuss important bills currently under Diet discussion that directly affect people’s livelihoods and democracy.

JCP Diet Affairs Commission Chair Shiokawa Tetsuya (House of Representatives) reported on the bill to establish a national intelligence council, the deliberations of which began that day at the House of Representatives Cabinet Committee. Shiokawa pointed out that the bill could lead to the establishment of a foreign intelligence agency and the enactment of an anti-espionage law. These two items are listed in the agreement between the Liberal Democratic Party and the “Nippon Ishin no Kai” party for forming a new coalition government. He stressed the need to inform the general public of the true nature of the bill and the dangers it poses.

The amendment to the Health Insurance Act, which began to be debated at the House of Representatives plenary session on April 9, would exclude prescription drugs with similar efficacy to over-the-counter (OTC) drugs from national health insurance coverage. In other words, it would impose new out-of-pocket costs on patients. Those present at the JCP-SDP meeting agreed that they should oppose not only the exclusion of OTC-like drugs from insurance, but also the government’s attempt to revise the present “high-cost medical expense benefit system” in a way that would increase patient co-payments.

On April 9, the House of Representatives Commission on the Constitution started a session in which each political party presents its views. With the exception of the JCP, representatives from all the other parties made enthusiastic statements in favor of constitutional revision. In contrast, citizen-led initiatives opposing constitutional revision are gaining widespread support across Japan. The attendees discussed the importance of expanding solidarity with concerned citizens.

Those present included: from the JCP, Executive Committee Chair Tamura Tomoko and Secretariat Head Koike Akira alongside Shiokawa; from the SDP, party leader Fukushima Mizuho and deputy leader Lasalle Ishii; and independent House of Councillors member Nagae Takako.

They agreed to make these exchange meetings a regular occurrence.

Past related articles:
> LDP proposes strengthening of spying and wiretapping capabilities [March 5, 2026]
> JCP and SDP confirm further cooperation to counter Takaichi gov’t [February 28, 2026]
> JCP Tamura calls for cancellation of gov’t plan to raise high-cost medical care co-payment cap [February 5, 2025]