ATAMI, SHIZUOKA PREF. – Japanese Communist Party Chairman Kazuo Shii emphasized Sunday that ongoing efforts to form a united front with other opposition parties will not be rolled back in the run-up to the next House of Representatives election.
“There will never be a backtracking. We will create a united front that will achieve a victory at any time when the Lower House is dissolved (for an election),” Shii said on the first day of the JCP’s four-day convention in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture.
He said the party’s aim will be to establish a mutual support system for unified opposition candidates in the next Lower House election and to reach an agreement on common policies with the other opposition parties to wrest power from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Executives of the Democratic Party, the main opposition force, attended the convention with executives from the Liberal and Social Democratic parties for the first time. In their addresses, they said they were ready to strengthen the opposition tie-up for the next Lower House election.
“I promise to push forward talks actively on specific efforts to make as much cooperation as possible,” DP Deputy President Jun Azumi said. “I hope (the opposition camp) will be prepared as soon as possible for the coming showdown battle.
