A final stage approaches of the Upper House election campaigns. The crucial point is to prevent those politicians who advocate amendment of Constitution from winning seats in the Diet. In all of the 32 single-seated constituencies candidates were fielded successfully by the concerted efforts of opposition parties and civic organizations, which is the first experience in the history of constitutionalism. Strong desire and great efforts of people made the feat accomplished. Let’s exert maximum power to win.


LET’S DEFEAT CANDIDATES WHO WANT TO REVISE PEACE CONSTITUTION!


War Cannot Bring Peace


The sole choice for us in the current election for the House of Councilors is to overwhelm politicians who want to amend the Peace Constitution. A coalition has been effectively built up by the opposition parties and civic organizations who seek in common for abolition of the war legislation. Thus, in all of the 32 single-seated election districts candidates were fielded by the combined hard work.


The controversial war legislation, which endorses the government’s approval of the right of collective self-defense prohibited by the constitution, was passed by the Diet’s majority last September. That is to open a path by which Japan may commit in a war abroad, a crucial turn in the history of the Constitution. An overwhelming number of people oppose the developments, but the government disregards and ridicules them. Democracy of the country now faces the most critical moment since the end of WWII. The Abe government flatly neglects all of people’s efforts accumulated to build up peace and democracy for over 70 years.


The Abe administration pursues peace to be established on militarism in the name of ‘a proactive peace-building policy’ in which he should attain peace by wars.


Poverty Prevails


Today poverty spreads rapidly in the country. A so-called working-poor people increase in number, whose income is less than those of beneficiaries of the Life Protection Service plan though they work hard on the full-time basis. College graduates indebted as much as 3 million Yen due to the student loans called scholarships are not rare.


Phrases are very often heard lately: ‘poverty among children’ and ‘bankruptcy after the retirement age’. The phenomena represent the unprecedented crisis of today. This means fundamental contradictions of the class society that splits the haves from the have-nots directly hit livelihood of people. The safety measures which people have won through struggles have been undermined.


It is three years since the beginning of second-round Abe administration. The Abenomics economic policy has brought about extraordinary cheap-Yen appreciation in the foreign exchange market and high quotation in the stock market in parallel with aggravation of the labor laws. Thus, the national economy has been ruined to expose people’s life to an abyss of danger.


The government shows off a ‘Plan to Encourage 100 Million Japanese People’ so as to conceal the contradictions. It pretends to favor a rise of the minimum wage and to admit a rule of an identical wage to an identical job, as if it should react to workers’ pressing needs, to win people’s support.


Let’s Fight until Last Moment


The intention of Prime Minister Abe is to rewrite the constitution. After the Diet enacted the war legislation by force September 19 last year, the government bolstered the second stage of Abenomics policy to escape criticisms. But the economic policy has failed completely, and people get aware of the fact after a lapse of three years. However, major newspaper firms put headlines like, ‘pro-amendment forces will gain over 2/3 of seats’ on the issues just after the election campaign announcement. The situation tells us that our struggles are not sufficient.


The voting day is July 10. We stand at a crossroad whether to give the pro-amendment forces over 2/3 parliamentary seats or to win a political phase to build up a new society. The former needs wars and nuclear power generation and brings poverty among people. We are at a watershed of history. Let’s keep fighting for victory until the last moment.


July 5, 2016