The Japanese Communist Party (JCP) has stepped up its campaign against a proposal to reduce the number of proportional-representation seats in the House of Representatives, while continuing its parliamentary activity and preparations for its forthcoming 30th Party Congress.
Japanese CP mobilises against proposed electoral reform and calls for wider public opposition
On 28 October, JCP Chair Tamura Tomoko held a press conference at the National Diet to protest an agreement among the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the Japan Innovation Party and the Democratic Party for the People to reduce the number of proportional-representation seats by 31. Tamura argued that the proposal had been negotiated without taking account of the objections of most opposition parties and would further distort the representation of voters. She warned that reducing the number of seats would make it harder for diverse public opinions to be represented in parliament and weaken its ability to scrutinise the government.
The JCP also criticised the proposed revision of the seat-allocation formula, arguing that it would make it more difficult for smaller parties, including the JCP, to win proportional-representation seats. The party reiterated its proposal to restore the total number of House of Representatives seats to 500, compared with the current 465.
On 29 October, the party reported that around 500 people had taken part in an action outside the National Diet against the proposed reduction. The JCP called for a broader public movement to prevent the measure from being adopted and pledged to work both inside and outside parliament.
The campaign continued on 30 October, when Tamura announced a new party appeal entitled “Let Us Unite to Stop the Reduction of the Number of Diet Members, Which Disregards the People's Will and Destroys the Foundations of Democracy.” The appeal calls on citizens to oppose the proposed changes and broaden cooperation in defence of democratic representation. It argues that reducing proportional-representation seats while leaving the single-member constituency system unchanged would further strengthen the larger parties at the expense of smaller political forces.
On the organisational and ideological front, the JCP publicised the draft partial revision of its programme ahead of the 30th Party Congress, scheduled for 18–22 January 2027. On 28 October, it published a video in which Secretariat Head Koike Akira introduced the proposed changes in an accessible pamphlet. The following day, party Chair Shii Kazuo also held a briefing on the draft revision. The proposals are part of the preparations for an all-party discussion ahead of the congress.