(Asahi: November 20, 2015 – p. 4)

 With the House of Councillors election next summer in mind, opinions were exchanged on Nov. 19 in the Diet between citizens’ groups that oppose the security laws and the leaders of opposition parties. The citizens’ groups in attendance were Association of Scholars Opposed to the Security-related Laws and Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy-s (SEALDs). Five opposition parties including the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) participated. The citizens’ groups urged the opposition parties to form a united opposition front and offered to create a new citizens’ organization to support the opposition front. All of the opposition parties indicated willingness to consider the proposal.

 The five opposition parties at the meeting were the DPJ, the Japanese Communist Party (JCP), the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and the People’s Life Party & Taro Yamamoto and Friends. “The Upper House election will be an important contest to protect constitutionalism and democracy. It is especially important to field candidates who can be supported by wide range of people in single-seat constituencies,” said DPJ Secretary General Yukio Edano in his remarks.