Japanese Communist Party Says Longtime Leader Kazuo Shii Won’t Run in Expected Lower House Election

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:11 JST, January 16, 2026

The Japanese Communist Party announced on Friday that Kazuo Shii, chairperson of the party’s Central Committee, will not run in an anticipated House of Representatives election.

Shii served as the JCP’s head for 23 years, the longest tenure in the party’s history.