Japanese Communist Party
Encyclopedia
The Japanese Communist Party (JCP, , Nihon Kyōsan-tō) 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
. It proposes to achieve these objectives by working within the framework of capitalism
in order to achieve its goals, while still struggling against what it describes as "imperialism
and its subordinate ally, monopoly
capital." Although it is a Marxist
party, the JCP does not advocate socialist revolution; it proposes a "democratic revolution" to achieve "democratic change in politics and the economy", and "the complete restoration of Japan's national sovereignty
", which it sees as infringed by Japan's security alliance with the United States
although it firmly defends Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan.
the party began to distance itself from the Socialist Bloc, especially from the Soviet Union
. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the JCP released a press statement titled, "We welcome the end of a great historical evil of imperialism and hegemonism" ("大国主義・覇権主義の歴史的巨悪の党の終焉を歓迎する"), while at the same time criticizing Eastern European countries for abandoning socialism, describing it as a "reversal of history".
Consequently, the party has not suffered an internal crisis as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union
, nor has it considered disbanding or changing its name or fundamental objectives, as many other Communist parties have done. It polled 11.3% of the vote in 2000, 8.2% in 2003, 7.3% in 2005, and 7.0% in the August 2009 election. While this represents a slow decline, the JCP still polled nearly 5 million votes, after Russia the second largest showing for any Communist Party in the Group of Eight nations. At the July 2007 elections
for the House of Councillors it received 7.5%.
political association. Outlawed at once under the Peace Preservation Law
, the JCP was subjected to repression and persecution by the military and police of Imperial Japan. It was the only political party in Japan that opposed Japan's involvement in World War II
. The party was legalised during the U.S. occupation of Japan in 1945, and since then has been a legal political party able to contest elections. In 1949 the party made unprecedented gains. It won 10 percent of the vote and sent 35 representatives to the Diet. But early in 1950, the Soviet Union sharply criticized the JCP's parliamentary strategy. Stalin insisted that the JCP pursue more militant, even violent, actions. SCAP
seized this occasion to engineer the Red Purge, which forced the party leaders underground. Then, after the Korean War
broke out, the party staged some acts of terrorism or sabotage. This resulted in a loss of popular confidence. Through the end of the decade it never won more than 3 percent of the votes or two seats in the Diet. Even so, its strong support among many intellectuals gave it a relatively greater importance than these numbers suggest.
The party did not take sides during the Sino-Soviet split
of the 1960s. In the mid 1960s the U.S. State Department estimated the party membership to be approximately 120,000 (0.2% of the working age population).
It reached the peak of its parliamentary strength in 1970s. In the December 1972 Lower House election, it received 5,497,000 votes (10.5% of the total), and won 38 seats in the Lower House (7.7% of the total). The party received similar levels of support in the 1976 and 1979 elections, and only slightly lower levels in the 1980s. In the 1996 and 2000 elections the JCP vote totals rose to over 12% of votes cast. Despite the higher vote totals, the JCP has not won more than 6% of Diet seats in any election since 1979.
The JCP has maintained its position partly because of the collapse of the old Japan Socialist Party
, once the country's main opposition party but by 2005 reduced to 5.5% of the vote. The JCP has also been helped by recent reforms to the Japanese electoral system. It is unable to win any single-member constituencies, but retains its representation by winning some of the proportional representation
seats.
Lam Peng Er argued in Pacific Affairs
in 1996 that "the JCP's viability is crucial to the health of Japanese democracy." This, he says, is because: "It is the only established party in parliament that has not been coopted by the conservative parties. It performs the watchdog role against the ruling parties without fear or favor. More importantly, the JCP often offers the only opposition candidate in prefectural governorship, city mayoral and other local elections. Despite the ostensible differences between the non-Communist parties at the national level, they often support a joint candidate for governor or mayor so that all parties are assured of being part of the ruling coalition. If the JCP did not offer a candidate, there would be a walkover and Japanese voters would be offered a fait accompli without an electoral avenue of protest. Promoting women candidates in elections to win women's votes is another characteristic of the party. More women are elected under the Communist label than other political parties in Japan."
Since mid 2008, the party has experienced an increase in support due to the effect of the global financial crisis on Japanese workers. However they failed to increase seats in the Japanese general election, 2009
.
and neutral country
, in accordance with its principles of self-determination
and national sovereignty
. (In Japan there are about 130 U.S. military bases and other related facilities, Okinawa having the largest U.S. military base in Asia
).
With regards to Japan's own military forces, the JCP's current policy is that it is not principally opposed to its existence (in 2000 it decided that it will agree to its use should Japan ever get attacked), but that it will seek to abolish it in the long term, international situation permitting.
The JCP also opposes possession of nuclear weapons by any country or the concept of military blocs, and opposes any attempt to revise Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan, which says that "never again …... [Japan] be visited with the horrors of war through the action of government". Regarding the resolution of disputes, it argues that priority must be given to peaceful means through negotiations, not to military solutions. The JCP says that Japan must adhere to the U.N. Charter.
The JCP adheres to the idea that Japan as an Asian country must stop putting emphasis on diplomacy centering on relations with the United States and the G8
Summit, and put Asian diplomacy at the center of its foreign relations. It supports Japan establishing an "independent foreign policy in the interests of the Japanese people," and rejects "uncritically following any foreign power".
The JCP advocates that Japan issue further apologies for its actions during World War II
. In the 1930s, while the JCP was still illegal, it was the only political party to actively oppose Japan's war with China and World War II.
The JCP has traditionally been opposed to the existence of the Imperial House
since the pre-war days. Today, it acknowledges the Emperor
as Japan's head of state as long as he remains a figurehead. JCP has stated that if the party comes to power, it will not ask the Emperor to abdicate; it is also against Japan's use of its national flag and national anthem which it sees as a relic of Japan's militarist past.
The JCP also strives to change the nation's economic policy of what it sees as serving the interests of large corporations and banks to one of "defending the interests of the people," and to establish "democratic rules" that will check the activities of large corporations and "protect the lives and basic rights of the people."
Regarding the issue of the international economy, the JCP has advocated establishing a new international democratic economic order on the basis of respect for the economic sovereignty of each country. The JCP sees the United States
, transnational corporations and international financial capital as pushing globalization
, which, it says, is seriously affecting the global economy, including the monetary and financial problems, as well as North-South and environmental problems. The JCP advocates "democratic regulation of activities by transnational corporations and international financial capital on an international scale."
The JCP stance on international terrorism
is that only by "encircling the forces of terror through strong international solidarity with the United Nations
at the center" can terrorism be eliminated. It argues that waging war as a response to terrorism "produces a rift and contradictions in international solidarity, which instead expands the breeding ground of terrorism."
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in 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...
.
The JCP advocates the establishment of a society based on socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and peace, and opposition to militarism
Militarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
. It proposes to achieve these objectives by working within the framework of capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
in order to achieve its goals, while still struggling against what it describes as "imperialism
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 its subordinate ally, monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
capital." Although it is a Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
party, the JCP does not advocate socialist revolution; it proposes a "democratic revolution" to achieve "democratic change in politics and the economy", and "the complete restoration of Japan's national sovereignty
National sovereignty
National sovereignty is the doctrine that sovereignty belongs to and derives from the nation, an abstract entity normally linked to a physical territory and its past, present, and future citizens. It is an ideological concept or doctrine derived from liberal political theory...
", which it sees as infringed by Japan's security alliance with the United States
Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan
The was signed between the United States and Japan in Washington, D.C. on January 19, 1960. It strengthened Japan's ties to the West during the Cold War era...
although it firmly defends Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan.
Outline
The JCP is one of the largest non-ruling communist parties in the world, with about 400,000 members belonging to 25,000 branches. In the wake of the Sino-Soviet splitSino-Soviet split
In political science, the term Sino–Soviet split denotes the worsening of political and ideologic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War...
the party began to distance itself from the Socialist Bloc, especially from the Soviet Union
Eurocommunism
Eurocommunism was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that was more relevant in a Western European democracy and less aligned to the influence or control of the Communist Party of the Soviet...
. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the JCP released a press statement titled, "We welcome the end of a great historical evil of imperialism and hegemonism" ("大国主義・覇権主義の歴史的巨悪の党の終焉を歓迎する"), while at the same time criticizing Eastern European countries for abandoning socialism, describing it as a "reversal of history".
Consequently, the party has not suffered an internal crisis as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, nor has it considered disbanding or changing its name or fundamental objectives, as many other Communist parties have done. It polled 11.3% of the vote in 2000, 8.2% in 2003, 7.3% in 2005, and 7.0% in the August 2009 election. While this represents a slow decline, the JCP still polled nearly 5 million votes, after Russia the second largest showing for any Communist Party in the Group of Eight nations. At the July 2007 elections
Japanese House of Councillors election, 2007
The for the upper house of the legislature of Japan were held on July 29, 2007. This was the only time Prime Minister Shinzō Abe had faced an election...
for the House of Councillors it received 7.5%.
History
The JCP was founded on July 15, 1922, as an undergroundResistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
political association. Outlawed at once under the Peace Preservation Law
Peace Preservation Law
The Public Security Preservation Laws were a series of laws enacted during the Empire of Japan. Collectively, the laws were designed to suppress political dissent.-the Safety Preservation Law of 1894:...
, the JCP was subjected to repression and persecution by the military and police of Imperial Japan. It was the only political party in Japan that opposed Japan's involvement in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The party was legalised during the U.S. occupation of Japan in 1945, and since then has been a legal political party able to contest elections. In 1949 the party made unprecedented gains. It won 10 percent of the vote and sent 35 representatives to the Diet. But early in 1950, the Soviet Union sharply criticized the JCP's parliamentary strategy. Stalin insisted that the JCP pursue more militant, even violent, actions. SCAP
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...
seized this occasion to engineer the Red Purge, which forced the party leaders underground. Then, after the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
broke out, the party staged some acts of terrorism or sabotage. This resulted in a loss of popular confidence. Through the end of the decade it never won more than 3 percent of the votes or two seats in the Diet. Even so, its strong support among many intellectuals gave it a relatively greater importance than these numbers suggest.
The party did not take sides during the Sino-Soviet split
Sino-Soviet split
In political science, the term Sino–Soviet split denotes the worsening of political and ideologic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War...
of the 1960s. In the mid 1960s the U.S. State Department estimated the party membership to be approximately 120,000 (0.2% of the working age population).
It reached the peak of its parliamentary strength in 1970s. In the December 1972 Lower House election, it received 5,497,000 votes (10.5% of the total), and won 38 seats in the Lower House (7.7% of the total). The party received similar levels of support in the 1976 and 1979 elections, and only slightly lower levels in the 1980s. In the 1996 and 2000 elections the JCP vote totals rose to over 12% of votes cast. Despite the higher vote totals, the JCP has not won more than 6% of Diet seats in any election since 1979.
The JCP has maintained its position partly because of the collapse of the old Japan Socialist Party
Social Democratic Party (Japan)
The Social Democratic Party The Social Democratic Party The Social Democratic Party (社会民主党 Shakai Minshu-tō, often abbreviated to 社民党 Shamin-tō; also known as the Social Democratic Party of Japan (abbreviated to SDPJ or SDP in English) is a political party that advocates for the establishment of a...
, once the country's main opposition party but by 2005 reduced to 5.5% of the vote. The JCP has also been helped by recent reforms to the Japanese electoral system. It is unable to win any single-member constituencies, but retains its representation by winning some of the proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
seats.
Lam Peng Er argued in Pacific Affairs
Pacific Affairs
Pacific Affairs ' is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that publishes academic research on contemporary political, economic, and social issues in Asia and the Pacific. The journal was founded in 1926 as the newsletter for the entirety of the Institute of Pacific Relations . In May 1928, PA adopted...
in 1996 that "the JCP's viability is crucial to the health of Japanese democracy." This, he says, is because: "It is the only established party in parliament that has not been coopted by the conservative parties. It performs the watchdog role against the ruling parties without fear or favor. More importantly, the JCP often offers the only opposition candidate in prefectural governorship, city mayoral and other local elections. Despite the ostensible differences between the non-Communist parties at the national level, they often support a joint candidate for governor or mayor so that all parties are assured of being part of the ruling coalition. If the JCP did not offer a candidate, there would be a walkover and Japanese voters would be offered a fait accompli without an electoral avenue of protest. Promoting women candidates in elections to win women's votes is another characteristic of the party. More women are elected under the Communist label than other political parties in Japan."
Since mid 2008, the party has experienced an increase in support due to the effect of the global financial crisis on Japanese workers. However they failed to increase seats in the Japanese general election, 2009
Japanese general election, 2009
A general election in Japan was held on August 30, 2009, for all 480 seats of the House of Representatives of Japan, the lower house of the Diet of Japan....
.
Policies
One of the JCP's main objectives is terminating the Japan–U.S. military alliance and the dismantling of all U.S. military bases in Japan. It wants to make Japan a non-alignedNon-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...
and neutral country
Neutral country
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
, in accordance with its principles of self-determination
Self-determination
Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
and national sovereignty
National sovereignty
National sovereignty is the doctrine that sovereignty belongs to and derives from the nation, an abstract entity normally linked to a physical territory and its past, present, and future citizens. It is an ideological concept or doctrine derived from liberal political theory...
. (In Japan there are about 130 U.S. military bases and other related facilities, Okinawa having the largest U.S. military base in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
).
With regards to Japan's own military forces, the JCP's current policy is that it is not principally opposed to its existence (in 2000 it decided that it will agree to its use should Japan ever get attacked), but that it will seek to abolish it in the long term, international situation permitting.
The JCP also opposes possession of nuclear weapons by any country or the concept of military blocs, and opposes any attempt to revise Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan, which says that "never again …... [Japan] be visited with the horrors of war through the action of government". Regarding the resolution of disputes, it argues that priority must be given to peaceful means through negotiations, not to military solutions. The JCP says that Japan must adhere to the U.N. Charter.
The JCP adheres to the idea that Japan as an Asian country must stop putting emphasis on diplomacy centering on relations with the United States and the G8
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...
Summit, and put Asian diplomacy at the center of its foreign relations. It supports Japan establishing an "independent foreign policy in the interests of the Japanese people," and rejects "uncritically following any foreign power".
The JCP advocates that Japan issue further apologies for its actions during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In the 1930s, while the JCP was still illegal, it was the only political party to actively oppose Japan's war with China and World War II.
The JCP has traditionally been opposed to the existence of the Imperial House
Imperial House of Japan
The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the Yamato Dynasty, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the emperor is the symbol of the state and unity of the people...
since the pre-war days. Today, it acknowledges the Emperor
Emperor of Japan
The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...
as Japan's head of state as long as he remains a figurehead. JCP has stated that if the party comes to power, it will not ask the Emperor to abdicate; it is also against Japan's use of its national flag and national anthem which it sees as a relic of Japan's militarist past.
The JCP also strives to change the nation's economic policy of what it sees as serving the interests of large corporations and banks to one of "defending the interests of the people," and to establish "democratic rules" that will check the activities of large corporations and "protect the lives and basic rights of the people."
Regarding the issue of the international economy, the JCP has advocated establishing a new international democratic economic order on the basis of respect for the economic sovereignty of each country. The JCP sees the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, transnational corporations and international financial capital as pushing globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
, which, it says, is seriously affecting the global economy, including the monetary and financial problems, as well as North-South and environmental problems. The JCP advocates "democratic regulation of activities by transnational corporations and international financial capital on an international scale."
The JCP stance on international terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
is that only by "encircling the forces of terror through strong international solidarity with the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
at the center" can terrorism be eliminated. It argues that waging war as a response to terrorism "produces a rift and contradictions in international solidarity, which instead expands the breeding ground of terrorism."
See also
- Kenji Miyamoto (politician)Kenji Miyamoto (politician)was a Japanese politician who led the Japanese Communist Party from 1958 until 1977.- Early life :Kenji Miyamoto was born in Japan in 1908. He was originally from Yamaguchi Prefecture....
- 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,...
- Socialist thought in Imperial JapanSocialist thought in Imperial JapanLeft Socialist thought in Imperial Japan appeared during the Meiji period, with the development of a large number of relatively short-lived political parties through the early Shōwa period...
- A draft of the constitution of People's Republic of JapanA draft of the constitution of People's Republic of JapanA draft of the constitution of People's Republic of Japan is a draft of an amendment to the constitution of Empire of Japan released by the Japanese Communist Party on June 29, 1946...
- Japanese Red ArmyJapanese Red ArmyThe was a Communist terrorist group founded by Fusako Shigenobu early in 1971 in Lebanon. It sometimes called itself Arab-JRA after the Lod airport massacre...
External links
- Japanese Communist Party: The official site of the JCP. Has a limited English section.
- Japan Press Weekly
- The Japanese communist party: Organization and resilience in the midst of adversity (Lam Peng Er's article in Pacific AffairsPacific AffairsPacific Affairs ' is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that publishes academic research on contemporary political, economic, and social issues in Asia and the Pacific. The journal was founded in 1926 as the newsletter for the entirety of the Institute of Pacific Relations . In May 1928, PA adopted...
)