Japan Revolutionary Communist League, National Committee (Middle Core Faction)
Encyclopedia
was the most powerful Japan
ese far-left revolutionary
group, often referred to as Chūkaku-ha (中核派 Middle Core Faction). However, in the most recent periods, the league has lost a significant amount of support due to a lack of interest and support in 'left-wing' policies across Japan as a whole.
's destruction of post-WWII revolution in Japan.
This led to a 1957 formation of Japan Revolutionary Communist League
(JRCL), a new "anti-Stalinist" revolutionary movement which denounced the existing communist regimes of USSR, Eastern Europe
, China
or North Korea
as "counterrevolutionary alienation of communist movement" that destroys self-emancipation of working class and world revolution under the theory of "socialism in one country". Subsequent splits between supporters and opponents of entrism and "unconditional support" of "workers' states" led to the formation of Japan Revolutionary Communist League National Committee. In 1959 Kuroda Kan'ichi
became chairperson of this group. JRCL-NC criticized "unconditional support" of "workers' states" as "dogmatism," "fetishism of nationalized property" and "disdain of the Marxist principle--'self-emancipation of working class.' "
In 1958, other group, leaders of Zengakuren
, broke away from Japanese Communist Party and established the Communist League. The majority of the Representative Assembly of Zengakuren supported the CL leadership.
1n 1960, Zengakuren waged historical struggle against US-Japan Security Treaty (Ampo Struggle) in defiance of fierce oppression by the Communist Party. In Zengakuren, the Japanese Section of the Fourth International
supported the minority faction led by the Japanese Communist Party. The JRCL National Committee formed a united front with the CL and fought against the JCP.
After the defeat of the Ampo Struggle, the many leaders of the Communist League entered the JRCL National Committee.
In 1961, immediately after the atomic bomb testing by the USSR, the JRCL-NC launched anti-nuke struggle against both US and USSR and organized massive workers' struggle against nuclear armament. Since then the JRCL-NC has underlined importance of struggles against US nuclear-powered submarines, aircraft cariers, Japanese nuclear power plants and other preparations of Japanese nuclear armament.
In 1963, another disagreement within the JRCL National Committee led to dissidents breaking away to form the JRCL Revolutionary Marxist Faction who were to become bitter enemies; loyalists eventually became known as the JRCL National Committee Middle Core Faction, or simply Chūkaku-ha ("Nucleus Faction" or "Middle Core Faction") for short.
The group's aim is to establish a socialist society worldwide--self-emancipation of working class of the world, focusing on organizing labor unions in workplaces as the most fundamental workers' organization, overthrow of the Japan
ese imperial system
and US-Japan Security Alliance, the complete removal of United States
military forces
from Japanese soil and overthrow of all imperialist and Stalinist regimes. Chūkaku-ha are believed to currently have about 3,500 members. Chūkaku-ha is said to have maintained a small armed wing known as the People's Revolutionary Army.
Chūkaku-ha was one of the main orchestrators of a series of student riots in the late 1960s. One of the earliest was in 1967 when helmet-clad students, opposed to Japan's support for America's role in the Vietnam War
and Prime Minister Eisaku Sato
's official visit to South Vietnam
, battled with riot police in an attempt to prevent him from reaching Haneda Airport in Tokyo
. Another major riot at this time was in January 1968, when thousands of protesters belonging to the All-Japan Federation of Students' Self-Governing Associations
(Zengakuren), led by several left-wing bodies including Chūkaku-ha, congregated in Sasebo, Nagasaki
, in a failed attempt to prevent the nuclear powered aircraft carier USS Enterprise
from stopping by at Sasebo's US Naval base
en route to Vietnam. A two-hour battle with riot police resulted in 135 injuries.
Chūkaku-ha-led riots continued into the early 1970s, with causes ranging from opposition to the extension of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, support for strikes demanding an unconditional return of Okinawa from American occupation and opposition to the forced eviction of farmers for the construction of Tokyo's new airport, Narita
, resulting in many arrests and the deaths of two riot policemen in separate incidents.
Before launching these militant struggles, Chūkaku-ha analyzed the post-WWII world system and concluded that the world ruling system of imperialism and Stalinism was beginning to be fundamentally unstabilized because of quagmire of Vietnam War, fundamental and unsolvable crisis of dollar system and IMF system, and contradiction of Stalinism.
The 1970s were also marked by bitter rivalry with the JRCL Revolutionary Marxist Faction (Kakumaru-ha), who broke off in 1963 and were engaged in a bloody "war" against other leftist militant groups, including Chūkaku-ha, the Japanese Section of the Fourth International
(United Secretariat). On December 14, 1969, Kakumaru attacked violently on People's Memorial for Comrade Kasuya (a member of other leftist organization, which was a part of a broad coalition) who was killed by the police, the Japanese Section of the Fourth International defined Kakumaru as "counterrevolutionary" and called for "armed self-defense" against counterrevolutionary physical attack by Kakumaru. In 1975, the leader of Chūkaku-ha, Nobuyoshi Honda, was attacked and killed in his sleep at his home in Kawaguchi, Saitama
by members of Kakumaru-ha, and Chūkaku-ha declared war on Kakumaru-ha. Escalating tit-for-tat killings amongst militant leftist groups continued throughout the 1980s, and the total number of deaths across the three main leftist militant groups in Japan is said to approach one hundred.
The early 1980s saw clashes with yet another rival leftist group, the Japanese section of Fourth International
, due to disagreements over the struggle against the construction and expansion of Narita Airport. This culminated in 1984 when members of Fourth International attacked Chūkaku-ha activists and Chūkaku-ha revenged Fourth International in their homes, seriously injuring two of them.
It was around this time that the group started to change their focus of activity from orchestrating demonstrations and riots to more underground, terrorist activities. The Narita Airport struggle also saw the last riot organised by Chūkaku-ha, when several thousand demonstrators, armed with logs, steel pipes, rocks and molotov cocktails, clashed with riot police at Sanrizuka near the airport on 20 October 1985.
On 19 September 1984, Chūkaku-ha's armed wing, the People's Revolutionary Army, attacked the Tokyo headquarters of the Liberal Democratic Party
using a flamethrower mounted on a lorry, causing extensive damage but no casualties. In its statement, the People's Revolutionary Army said that the attack was part of the airport struggle.
In November 1985, the group, who was opposed to the privatisation of Japan National Railways, simultaneously sabotaged railway signaling cables in 33 locations in Tokyo and Osaka and set fire to Asakusabashi Station
in Tokyo, paralyzing the railway systems of both cities. In 1986, the group launched crude incendiary rockets into the USAF's Yokota Air Base
in Tokyo and at several locations related to the 12th G7 Summit
. None of these attacks caused any casualties.
Chūkaku-ha's anti-Narita Airport activities continued as a campaign of intimidation against officials and industry figures related to the airport's expansion, with a series of arson and firebomb attacks, some of which were fatal.
In May 1991, Chūkaku-ha decided to moderate its campaign of armed struggle and instead concentrated on consolidating its position within trade unions and mainstream left-wing movements. Most of its activities today are peaceful.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese far-left revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
group, often referred to as Chūkaku-ha (中核派 Middle Core Faction). However, in the most recent periods, the league has lost a significant amount of support due to a lack of interest and support in 'left-wing' policies across Japan as a whole.
Origin
Chūkaku-ha traces its origins in the internal divisions within Japan's communist movements in the 1950s which saw disillusionment amongst militant left-wingers with the USSR-led communist movement at that time and the Japanese Communist PartyJapanese Communist Party
The Japanese Communist Party is a left-wing political party in Japan.The JCP advocates the establishment of a society based on socialism, democracy and peace, and opposition to militarism...
's destruction of post-WWII revolution in Japan.
This led to a 1957 formation of Japan Revolutionary Communist League
Japan Revolutionary Communist League
The Japan Revolutionary Communist League is a Trotskyist group in Japan....
(JRCL), a new "anti-Stalinist" revolutionary movement which denounced the existing communist regimes of USSR, Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
or North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
as "counterrevolutionary alienation of communist movement" that destroys self-emancipation of working class and world revolution under the theory of "socialism in one country". Subsequent splits between supporters and opponents of entrism and "unconditional support" of "workers' states" led to the formation of Japan Revolutionary Communist League National Committee. In 1959 Kuroda Kan'ichi
Kuroda Kan'ichi
was a 20th century Japanese philosopher and social theorist. Born in Fuchū, Tokyo as the son of a doctor, he began studying Marxist philosophy at the age of twenty, in 1947, following the defeat of Japan and the subsequent U.S. occupation of Japan. At this time the workers movement in Japan was...
became chairperson of this group. JRCL-NC criticized "unconditional support" of "workers' states" as "dogmatism," "fetishism of nationalized property" and "disdain of the Marxist principle--'self-emancipation of working class.' "
In 1958, other group, leaders of Zengakuren
Zengakuren
Founded in 1948, Zengakuren is a communist / anarchist league of students in Japan. The word is an abridgement of which literally means “All-Japan League of Student Self-Government.” Notable for organizing protests and marches, Zengakuren has been involved in Japan’s Anti-Red Purge Movement,...
, broke away from Japanese Communist Party and established the Communist League. The majority of the Representative Assembly of Zengakuren supported the CL leadership.
1n 1960, Zengakuren waged historical struggle against US-Japan Security Treaty (Ampo Struggle) in defiance of fierce oppression by the Communist Party. In Zengakuren, the Japanese Section of the Fourth International
Fourth International
The Fourth International is the communist international organisation consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky , with the declared dedicated goal of helping the working class bring about socialism...
supported the minority faction led by the Japanese Communist Party. The JRCL National Committee formed a united front with the CL and fought against the JCP.
After the defeat of the Ampo Struggle, the many leaders of the Communist League entered the JRCL National Committee.
In 1961, immediately after the atomic bomb testing by the USSR, the JRCL-NC launched anti-nuke struggle against both US and USSR and organized massive workers' struggle against nuclear armament. Since then the JRCL-NC has underlined importance of struggles against US nuclear-powered submarines, aircraft cariers, Japanese nuclear power plants and other preparations of Japanese nuclear armament.
In 1963, another disagreement within the JRCL National Committee led to dissidents breaking away to form the JRCL Revolutionary Marxist Faction who were to become bitter enemies; loyalists eventually became known as the JRCL National Committee Middle Core Faction, or simply Chūkaku-ha ("Nucleus Faction" or "Middle Core Faction") for short.
The group's aim is to establish a socialist society worldwide--self-emancipation of working class of the world, focusing on organizing labor unions in workplaces as the most fundamental workers' organization, overthrow of the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese imperial system
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
and US-Japan Security Alliance, the complete removal of United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
from Japanese soil and overthrow of all imperialist and Stalinist regimes. Chūkaku-ha are believed to currently have about 3,500 members. Chūkaku-ha is said to have maintained a small armed wing known as the People's Revolutionary Army.
Activities
Although the majority of Chūkaku-ha's activities today relate to organizing labor unions and students' autonomous bodies, pamphleteering and public protests, the group has a violent history, ranging from riots to sabotage attacks and assassinations.Chūkaku-ha was one of the main orchestrators of a series of student riots in the late 1960s. One of the earliest was in 1967 when helmet-clad students, opposed to Japan's support for America's role in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and Prime Minister Eisaku Sato
Eisaku Sato
This article is about the Prime Minister of Japan. For the governor of Fukushima Prefecture of Japan of the same name, see Eisaku Satō ....
's official visit to South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
, battled with riot police in an attempt to prevent him from reaching Haneda Airport in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. Another major riot at this time was in January 1968, when thousands of protesters belonging to the All-Japan Federation of Students' Self-Governing Associations
Zengakuren
Founded in 1948, Zengakuren is a communist / anarchist league of students in Japan. The word is an abridgement of which literally means “All-Japan League of Student Self-Government.” Notable for organizing protests and marches, Zengakuren has been involved in Japan’s Anti-Red Purge Movement,...
(Zengakuren), led by several left-wing bodies including Chūkaku-ha, congregated in Sasebo, Nagasaki
Sasebo, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
, in a failed attempt to prevent the nuclear powered aircraft carier USS Enterprise
USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
USS Enterprise , formerly CVA-65, is the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth US naval vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed the "Big E". At , she is the longest naval vessel in the world...
from stopping by at Sasebo's US Naval base
United States Fleet Activities Sasebo
U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo is a United States Navy naval base, in Sasebo, Japan, on the island of Kyūshū. It provides facilities for the logistic support of forward-deployed units and visiting operating forces of the United States Pacific Fleet and designated tenant activities.- History :Sasebo...
en route to Vietnam. A two-hour battle with riot police resulted in 135 injuries.
Chūkaku-ha-led riots continued into the early 1970s, with causes ranging from opposition to the extension of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, support for strikes demanding an unconditional return of Okinawa from American occupation and opposition to the forced eviction of farmers for the construction of Tokyo's new airport, Narita
Narita International Airport
is an international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is located east of Tokyo Station and east-southeast of Narita Station in the city of Narita, and the adjacent town of Shibayama....
, resulting in many arrests and the deaths of two riot policemen in separate incidents.
Before launching these militant struggles, Chūkaku-ha analyzed the post-WWII world system and concluded that the world ruling system of imperialism and Stalinism was beginning to be fundamentally unstabilized because of quagmire of Vietnam War, fundamental and unsolvable crisis of dollar system and IMF system, and contradiction of Stalinism.
The 1970s were also marked by bitter rivalry with the JRCL Revolutionary Marxist Faction (Kakumaru-ha), who broke off in 1963 and were engaged in a bloody "war" against other leftist militant groups, including Chūkaku-ha, the Japanese Section of the Fourth International
Fourth International
The Fourth International is the communist international organisation consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky , with the declared dedicated goal of helping the working class bring about socialism...
(United Secretariat). On December 14, 1969, Kakumaru attacked violently on People's Memorial for Comrade Kasuya (a member of other leftist organization, which was a part of a broad coalition) who was killed by the police, the Japanese Section of the Fourth International defined Kakumaru as "counterrevolutionary" and called for "armed self-defense" against counterrevolutionary physical attack by Kakumaru. In 1975, the leader of Chūkaku-ha, Nobuyoshi Honda, was attacked and killed in his sleep at his home in Kawaguchi, Saitama
Kawaguchi, Saitama
is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on April 1, 1933.As of January 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 517,171, the second largest in Saitama Prefecture after Saitama, and a population density of 9,276.61 persons per km². The total area is 55.75 km²...
by members of Kakumaru-ha, and Chūkaku-ha declared war on Kakumaru-ha. Escalating tit-for-tat killings amongst militant leftist groups continued throughout the 1980s, and the total number of deaths across the three main leftist militant groups in Japan is said to approach one hundred.
The early 1980s saw clashes with yet another rival leftist group, the Japanese section of Fourth International
Fourth International
The Fourth International is the communist international organisation consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky , with the declared dedicated goal of helping the working class bring about socialism...
, due to disagreements over the struggle against the construction and expansion of Narita Airport. This culminated in 1984 when members of Fourth International attacked Chūkaku-ha activists and Chūkaku-ha revenged Fourth International in their homes, seriously injuring two of them.
It was around this time that the group started to change their focus of activity from orchestrating demonstrations and riots to more underground, terrorist activities. The Narita Airport struggle also saw the last riot organised by Chūkaku-ha, when several thousand demonstrators, armed with logs, steel pipes, rocks and molotov cocktails, clashed with riot police at Sanrizuka near the airport on 20 October 1985.
On 19 September 1984, Chūkaku-ha's armed wing, the People's Revolutionary Army, attacked the Tokyo headquarters of the Liberal Democratic Party
Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...
using a flamethrower mounted on a lorry, causing extensive damage but no casualties. In its statement, the People's Revolutionary Army said that the attack was part of the airport struggle.
In November 1985, the group, who was opposed to the privatisation of Japan National Railways, simultaneously sabotaged railway signaling cables in 33 locations in Tokyo and Osaka and set fire to Asakusabashi Station
Asakusabashi Station
is a subway station on the Toei Asakusa Line operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation, and a railway station above ground level on the Chūō-Sōbu Line at the same site operated by the East Japan Railway Company . It is located in the Asakusabashi neighborhood of Taitō, Tokyo, Japan...
in Tokyo, paralyzing the railway systems of both cities. In 1986, the group launched crude incendiary rockets into the USAF's Yokota Air Base
Yokota Air Base
, is a United States Air Force base in the city of Fussa, one of 26 cities in the Tama Area, or Western Tokyo.The base houses 14,000 personnel. The base occupies a total area of and has a runway...
in Tokyo and at several locations related to the 12th G7 Summit
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
. None of these attacks caused any casualties.
Chūkaku-ha's anti-Narita Airport activities continued as a campaign of intimidation against officials and industry figures related to the airport's expansion, with a series of arson and firebomb attacks, some of which were fatal.
In May 1991, Chūkaku-ha decided to moderate its campaign of armed struggle and instead concentrated on consolidating its position within trade unions and mainstream left-wing movements. Most of its activities today are peaceful.
External links
- JRCL (Chūkaku-ha) website
- Zengakuren, the ZengakurenZengakurenFounded in 1948, Zengakuren is a communist / anarchist league of students in Japan. The word is an abridgement of which literally means “All-Japan League of Student Self-Government.” Notable for organizing protests and marches, Zengakuren has been involved in Japan’s Anti-Red Purge Movement,...
faction that is loyal to JRCL (Chūkaku-ha)