Elections will start soon of the Tokyo City Assembly, which will send some signals for the general election to come in autumn. The Olympics and Paralympics are to be held coercively amid the pandemic and this local election will question the events. The New Socialist Party will make best to gain victory of constitutional forces.
LET’S FIGHT FOR VICTORY OF CONSTITUTIONAL CANDIDATES!
Tokyo Governor’s Priority to Olympic Games
The local government of Tokyo led by Governor Koike Yuriko gives priority to holding the Olympics, putting the anti-pandemic measures off amid the tumultuous situation. The municipal administration is sustained by political parties as the Liberal Democratic Party, the Komei, and the Tomin-First (or Tokyo-residents First) Party. Reportedly, a dispatch to the Games of doctors and nurses counts 700 on the daily basis and 30 thousand of firefighters in total during the event. In addition, schoolchildren and students will be invited to watch the Games, who count 810 thousand. The decision of the Tokyo government directly links with lives of inhabitants.
At the beginning, or at the moment when hosting was agreed, it was reported the sports event would be held in a smaller scale with an estimated cost of 734 billion Yen. But, as of the end of December 2020, it surged to 1 trillion 744 billion Yen, according to the official announcement. Out of this expense, the Tokyo government owes 717 billion Yen. The total reaches as high as a figure of 1.5 trillion Yen, if relevant costs that the Tokyo government separately plans are counted.
Professor Gan Sakiko, Atomi Female University, an expert on poverty of children, has calculated a cost to make free of charge of school lunches at all public elementary and junior high schools across the country. According to her estimates, it is necessary to allocate 512 billion Yen annually. If the figure is compared with that of the Olympics, it is much lower.
Government must look at people’s life
Politics is responsible for guaranteeing all people in the country to live, minimally, in good health and with cultural quality (Article 25 of the Constitution). However, a plan of the Tokyo Government, ‘Future of Tokyo’, pursues conditions that will fit to interests of multi-national corporations in their profit-making activities, paying less attention to the lives of residents.
The pandemic has brought poverty: visibly more people are lacking in food and housing. It has taught us urgent duties to hold up people’s lives, including free education, fresh construction of inexpensive apartments and alleviation of insurance premiums for healthcare and elderly care programs. Other important tasks include building the official contract system and regulating the so-called Black Companies in order to lessen employment troubles and reduce poverty as well as reorganizing the society as gender-free in which women workers could evade poverty.
Let’s win in the election!
Members of six constitutional political parties have regular meetings to exchange opinions: the Constitutional Democratic Party, the Communist Party, the Social-Democratic Party, the Citizens’ Net, the Greens and the New Socialist Party (NSP). In the election four years ago candidates competed with each other, but this time they work mutually and solidly in the electoral districts, especially ones where seats are set as one up to three. This is an outcome of activities of civic organizations.
The NSP cannot run own candidates in the election. It will actively support candidates of other political parties. Efforts mean a path to change politics of Tokyo, to respond to a hope of the residents for a united opposition body, to make voters go to ballot stations even though they do not have own favorite political group. That will build up the basis of political cooperation and will certainly intensify the NSP’s potential.
The NSP is ready to set up bases of civic groups and political parties and broaden its fields of activities. We are determined to lead the constitutional forces to victory in the coming election.
許されぬ五輪優先
小池都政は五輪開催が優先で、深刻なコロナ禍への対策は後回しだ。それを支えるのが自民・公明・都民ファースト。五輪に派遣する医師・看護師は１日７００人、消防士等延べ３万人、児童・生徒の観戦８1万人といわれ、五輪優先は都民の生命に直結する。
大会経費は招致時点で７３４０億円・コンパクトな五輪と吹聴したが、昨年１２月末には２・４倍近い１兆７４４０億円と発表した。うち都の負担は７１７０億円だが、都独自の大会関連経費を合わせると１兆５千億円もの支出になる。
子どもの貧困に詳しい跡見女子学園大の鳫咲子（がんさきこ）教授の試算では、全国の公立小中学校の給食無償化には年間約５１２０億円必要という。東京五輪の費用からすれば安いものだ。
都民に目を向けよ
政治には、全ての国民が健康で文化的な最低限度の生活を営む権利を保障する責務がある（憲法２５条）。だが、都の長期戦略「未来の東京」は、多国籍企業などの活動しやすさ・稼ぎやすさを目指すが、都民の生活には目を向けない。
コロナ禍が食料・住宅にも困る生活困窮者を顕在化させ、教育の無償化、低廉な住宅の新規建設、高い国保料・介護保険料の軽減など、生活を底支えすることが焦眉の課題であることを鮮明にした。働く者の雇用不安や貧困をなくすため、公契約条例の制定やブラック企業の規制強化も迫られ、女性の貧困をなくし、ジェンダーフリー社会の構築も当面する重要な課題だ。
共闘を支え勝利ヘ
東京では、立憲野党が「意見交換会」をもっている。各級選挙の相互協力を前提に立憲・共産・社民・ネット・緑・新社会の６党が参加する。４年前の都議選は競い合ったが、今回は定数１〜３の選挙区で相互協力が格段に進んでいる。各地の市民連合の努力の成果でもある。
新社会党は公認候補を出せないが、推薦・応援などで積極的に関わる。それが都政変革の道であり、野党共闘を望む都民に応える道であり、無党派層を投票所に導く道であり、共闘を支え推進することが党の拡大・強化につながると確信する。市民と野党の共闘や党独自の取組みを数多く設定し、立憲勢力の勝利へ汗をかく決意だ。
英訳版↓
No. 1215 Election of Tokyo City Assembly
Elections will start soon of the Tokyo City Assembly, which will send some signals for the general election to come in autumn. The Olympics and Paralympics are to be held coercively amid the pandemic and this local election will question the events. The New Socialist Party will make best to gain victory of constitutional forces.
LET’S FIGHT FOR VICTORY OF CONSTITUTIONAL CANDIDATES!
Tokyo Governor’s Priority to Olympic Games
The local government of Tokyo led by Governor Koike Yuriko gives priority to holding the Olympics, putting the anti-pandemic measures off amid the tumultuous situation. The municipal administration is sustained by political parties as the Liberal Democratic Party, the Komei, and the Tomin-First (or Tokyo-residents First) Party. Reportedly, a dispatch to the Games of doctors and nurses counts 700 on the daily basis and 30 thousand of firefighters in total during the event. In addition, schoolchildren and students will be invited to watch the Games, who count 810 thousand. The decision of the Tokyo government directly links with lives of inhabitants.
At the beginning, or at the moment when hosting was agreed, it was reported the sports event would be held in a smaller scale with an estimated cost of 734 billion Yen. But, as of the end of December 2020, it surged to 1 trillion 744 billion Yen, according to the official announcement. Out of this expense, the Tokyo government owes 717 billion Yen. The total reaches as high as a figure of 1.5 trillion Yen, if relevant costs that the Tokyo government separately plans are counted.
Professor Gan Sakiko, Atomi Female University, an expert on poverty of children, has calculated a cost to make free of charge of school lunches at all public elementary and junior high schools across the country. According to her estimates, it is necessary to allocate 512 billion Yen annually. If the figure is compared with that of the Olympics, it is much lower.
Government must look at people’s life
Politics is responsible for guaranteeing all people in the country to live, minimally, in good health and with cultural quality (Article 25 of the Constitution). However, a plan of the Tokyo Government, ‘Future of Tokyo’, pursues conditions that will fit to interests of multi-national corporations in their profit-making activities, paying less attention to the lives of residents.
The pandemic has brought poverty: visibly more people are lacking in food and housing. It has taught us urgent duties to hold up people’s lives, including free education, fresh construction of inexpensive apartments and alleviation of insurance premiums for healthcare and elderly care programs. Other important tasks include building the official contract system and regulating the so-called Black Companies in order to lessen employment troubles and reduce poverty as well as reorganizing the society as gender-free in which women workers could evade poverty.
Let’s win in the election!
Members of six constitutional political parties have regular meetings to exchange opinions: the Constitutional Democratic Party, the Communist Party, the Social-Democratic Party, the Citizens’ Net, the Greens and the New Socialist Party (NSP). In the election four years ago candidates competed with each other, but this time they work mutually and solidly in the electoral districts, especially ones where seats are set as one up to three. This is an outcome of activities of civic organizations.
The NSP cannot run own candidates in the election. It will actively support candidates of other political parties. Efforts mean a path to change politics of Tokyo, to respond to a hope of the residents for a united opposition body, to make voters go to ballot stations even though they do not have own favorite political group. That will build up the basis of political cooperation and will certainly intensify the NSP’s potential.
The NSP is ready to set up bases of civic groups and political parties and broaden its fields of activities. We are determined to lead the constitutional forces to victory in the coming election.
June 22, 2021