The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has lost severely in its history in the recent election of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is eager to reshuffle his cabinet early August in order to relieve himself from responsibility, but his leadership has weakened inside the party and dissatisfactions erupt from the members, too. Let’s keep up our struggles to overthrow the government by staging a second and a third blows.


LET’S CONTINUE FIGHTING TO OVERTHROWN ABE GOVERNMENT!


Full Investigation of Scandals Necessary


Responding to the harsh loss of the LDP in the election, the premier allegedly prepares for cabinet reorganization to seal the scandals of Mr. Kagoike and Kake Gakuein School.


We must not forget his recent forcible way of approval of the conspiracy act in the Diet and cunning tactics to amend the Constitution as well as the scandals on schools of Moritomo and Kake, which represent a robbery of people’s assets. Each of every opinion poll shows that people are indignant to the behaviors of Premier Abe.


Don’t Allow Premier to Run Away!


The Ministry of Education, Science & Technology and Sports has released documents which prove pressures imposed by the government, like ‘a cordial instruction from Prime Minister’ and ‘a deadline set by Premier’ over the scandals. On the other hand, however, the Cabinet Office keeps refusing to open relevant proceedings to the public. Meanwhile, the Osaka Prefectural Assembly called July 10 former Chief Director of Moritomo School, Mr. Kagoike, to testify on the application for certification to set up an elementary school.


On the civic movement side, rallies have been organized by the So-Gakari Civic Action Executive Committee in front of the parliament building, starting on July 10, to demand transparency on the scandals of Moritomo and Kake and to request abstention of the conspiracy act.


The both houses of parliament, which ended ordinary session last month, called for July 10 Former Deputy Minister Maekawa Kihei as a material witness to testify about the scandals. In the subsequently held Budget Committee attended by Premier Abe on the day the four opposition parties demanded to continue investigation on the scandals during the parliamentary recess. Doubts must be cleared up fairly and completely with combined efforts of civic movements and opposition politicians to drive the government to begin the coming extraordinary session of the Diet as early as possible.


Let’s Give a Third Blow!


The LDP’s current presidency will expire in September, 2018. If Premier Abe is to retain office and he clings stubbornly to amendment of the Constitution, he needs to win people’s trust before the end of his incumbency. Therefore it is observed that Premier Abe will dare to dissolve the House of Representatives for general elections earlier; that means before the Tomin-First group led by Tokyo Governor Koike, which defeated the LDP in the recent election, gets ready to work and during the Democratic Party remains unstable.


Premier Abe plans to unite the LDP, the Komeito, the Ishin and the Koike’s People First group together to secure the 2/3 majority in the Diet so that a constitution amendment bill could be presented and, simultaneously, the school scandals might be covered up.


Let’s Organize Broad Strata of People!


The New Socialist Party has a policy to build up a joint front of mass of people who want to change the society. That is the sole way for people to entrust hopes and upset the premier’s goal to rewrite the constitution.


Results of the recent election in Tokyo showed advancement of the Communist Party which had relied on the policy to get united together with opposition forces, collapse of the Democratic Party of Japan, and retreat of civic movements to defend the constitution and fight against poverty and social inequalities. A prospect of a joint front of opposition will be postponed to realize.


Judging from today’s reality, we must prepare a third blow to the Abe government by fielding universally supported candidates in the election constituencies.


The government is planned to combine the plebiscite for amendment of the Constitution with the general elections of House of Representatives or the election of the House of Councilors.


Let’s realize an olive-tree-type electoral alliance. It is our urgent task to unite civic forces that the Democratic Party and the Communist Party cannot take care of.




July 18, 2017