Japan Party Heads Call for Support a Week Ahead of General Election

Tokyo, Feb. 1 (Jiji Press)–Japanese political party heads and others beefed up their campaign activities Sunday, a week ahead of a closely watched general election for the House of Representatives, the powerful lower chamber of parliament. On the only Sunday during the official campaign period for the Feb. 8 election, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, toured the central prefectures of Gifu and Aichi to sell her “responsible and proactive” fiscal policy. In a stump speech in the Gifu city of Kani, Takaichi vowed to enable people to ensure safety, receive high-quality education and have places to work, regardless of where they live. “It would become too late unless we start working now,” she said. “We need to break away from excessive austerity,” Takaichi added. In Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward, Yoshihiko Noda, co-leader of the major opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, vowed to reduce the consumption tax rate to zero for food permanently by autumn this year without issuing deficit-covering government bonds. “We should not let people starve, and we want to create a society where everyone can eat,” he added. In the city of Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, Fumitake Fujita, co-leader of the Japan Innovation Party, the LDP’s coalition partner, sought voter support to advance its policies while mentioning the LDP’s major shift in its national security and other policies. In a speech in the Hyogo capital of Kobe, Takashi Takai, secretary-general of opposition Reiwa Shinsengumi, said, “Current politics is paying attention to only large companies and capitalists, and is not caring for ordinary people at all.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]