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Japanese Communist Party 日本共産党
| |
|---|---|
 Nihon Kyōsantō | |
| Abbreviation | JCP |
| Chairperson | Tomoko Tamura |
| General Secretary | Akira Koike |
| Founded | July 15, 1922 |
| Legalized | September 2, 1945 |
| Banned | September 1929[1] |
| Preceded by | Enlightened People's Communist Party |
| Headquarters | 4-26-7 Sendagaya, Shibuya, 151-8586 Japan |
| Newspaper | Shimbun Akahata |
| Youth wing | Democratic Youth League of Japan |
| Membership (2022) | 260,000[2] |
| Political orientation | Marxism (de jure) Social democracy (de facto) Chauvinism Reformism Historical: Marxism-Leninism |
| International affiliation | IMCWP (non-participant) |
| Colours | Red |
| Slogan | "The people are the protagonists." |
| House of Representatives | 10 seats out of 465 seats |
| House of Councilors | 11 seats out of 242 seats |
| Website | |
| jcp.or.jp | |
 Twitter | @jcp_cc |
 YouTube channel | https://www.youtube.com/@jcpmovie |
 Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/kyosanto/ |
 Instagram | @nihonkyosanto |
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The Japanese Communist Party (Japanese 日本共産党; romanised Nihon Kyōsantō), abbreviated JCP in English, is a self-proclaimed communist party in Japan founded in 1922. Despite calling itself 'communist' and often being referred to as one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world, it is a reformist organisation with policies more closely aligned to social democracy and the Eurocommunist movement.
History[edit | edit source]
Founding[edit | edit source]
The Japanese Communist Party was founded in 1922 by multiple members of the party's indirect predecessor, the Enlightened People's Communist Party, and was soon outlawed by the imperial government's Peace Preservation Law.[3] Fukumoto Kazuo advocated for "unity in separation" and ideological purity, which the Comintern denounced as ultra-left in 1927. The 1927 Comintern Theses argued that Japan still needed a bourgeois-democratic revolution against the emperor and landlordism.[4]
Fascist period[edit | edit source]
By the 1930s, two factions had emerged: the smaller Rōnō faction that defined the 1868 Meiji Restoration as a full bourgeois-democratic revolution and the larger Kōza faction that defined it as an incomplete bourgeois revolution.[4] In 1932 in Moscow, Nosaka Sanzō, the party's representative to the Comintern, wrote the 1932 Thesis,[3] aligning with the Kōza position. Party leader Noro Eitarō completed the Lectures on the History of Development of Japanese Capitalism in 1932, aligning with the 1932 Thesis, and died in prison in 1934.[4]
During the Second World War, Nosaka fled to China and joined the Chinese Red Army to fight against the Empire of Japan. He founded the Japanese People's Emancipation League, which attracted Japanese deserters and POWs to fight for socialism.[3]
Postwar period[edit | edit source]
Tokuda Kyūichi, who had spent 18 years in prison under the Peace Preservation Law, became leader of the party after the war. In 1946, Douglas MacArthur began the Red Purges against the party due to its popular support. The party went underground and called for armed national liberation struggle against the USA. The party incorrectly focused on the countryside and attempted to start a protracted people's war led by the peasantry.[4]
The JCP's Sixth Congress in 1955 rejected armed struggle and considered the return to the villages to be ultra-left adventurism. Due to its reformist deviations, it failed to lead the 1960 Anpo protests against the USA-Japan Joint Security Treaty.[4]
Positions[edit | edit source]
Party positions[edit | edit source]
- The Japanese Communist Party has displayed chauvinistic tendencies in terms of being against Russian control of the lower Kuril Islands, which were annexed by the Soviet Union following the Soviet-Japanese War. It views claims as illegitimate, and would come out with a statement in 2001 which would claim that Japan has historical rights to the entirety of the island chain, claiming that they were "historically part of Japan," completely ignoring the fact that the island chain is home to the Ainu ethnic group along with the eventually colonized island of Yaunmosir, which would eventually become to be known as Hokkaido.[5]
- Although the Japanese Communist Party supports the establishment of a republic, it maintains a neutral stance on the future of the Chrysanthemum Throne. Kazuo Shii, the former chairperson, remarked that the imperial system is enshrined in the Constitution, and any decision about its continuation or abolition should be made by the people's majority will when the time comes.[6]
- The Japanese Communist Party is an advocate for further LGBTQ+ rights, advocating for the legalization of same-sex marriage within Japan alongside claiming to support protection of transgender individuals within the country.[7][8] However, there have been some accusations of members' use of problematic language such as the "trans problem" to justify transphobic rhetoric within the party.[9]
International relations[edit | edit source]
The JCP, in comparison to other self-proclaimed communist parties, is very critical of AES countries, having even said that the Communist Party of China does not deserve to call itself communist.[10]
The party also supports the Jewish colonisation of Palestine, calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza but nonetheless upholding the existence of the Zionist Entity, advocating for a two-state solution, and denouncing Palestinian acts of resistance as a "violation of international law."[11]
On October 13th 2022, the JCP opposed Russia in the Ukraine proxy war. In a statement, the party supported the United Nations resolution verbatim and demanded that "Russia accept the UNGA resolution, cancel the illegal annexation, and withdraw its troops immediately, completely, and unconditionally". The condemnation statement made no mention of the Euromaidan coup, imperialist meddling in Ukraine since 2014, or the failures of Minsk I and II.[12]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "The Japanese Communist Party 1922-1945" (November 10, 2024).
- ↑ "A Profile of the Japanese Communist Party" (November 1, 2022).
- ↑ Jump up to: 3.0 3.1 3.2 Comrade Saoirse. "The Japanese Communist Party during World War II" Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ↑ Jump up to: 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Gavin Walker (2024-04-06). "Marxist theory in Japan: A critical overview" MR Online. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
- ↑ Japanese Communist Party (2001-04-13). "森・プーチン会談と「イルクーツク声明」は何を示したか (What did the Mori-Putin meeting and the "Irkutsk Statement" show?)" Japanese Communist Party. Archived from the original on 2024-12-26. Retrieved 2025-03-19.
- ↑ “As to the course of development of Japanese society, the JCP Program states: The JCP maintains that the present hereditary system allowing an individual to be the symbol of “the unity of the people” contradicts democracy and the principle that all people are equal, and that the consistent implementation of the principle of popular sovereignty calls for a political system to be established under a democratic republic. The Emperor system is a system provided for by the Constitution, and its continuation or discontinuation should be decided by the will of the majority of the people in future, when the time is ripe to do so.”
Japanese Communist Party (2015-12-25). "Shii answers reporters’ questions on JCP decision to attend opening ceremony of the Diet" Japan Press Weekly. Archived from the original on 2024-12-01. Retrieved 2025-03-17. - ↑ Japanese Communist Party (2023-03-30). "JCP submits marriage equality bill to Upper House" Japan Press Weekly. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
- ↑ Japanese Communist Party (2023-12-26). "JCP works toward a society where transgender individuals and women can live with peace of mind" Japan Press Weekly. Archived from the original on 2024-06-13. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
- ↑ “The Communist Party already has transgender members, yet for some reason there are still party members who justify discrimination by talking of the supposed "trans problem." That's a much bigger problem.”
@es_bd_toru (2025-22-03). "es_bd_toru on X: "共産党にはトランスジェンダーの党員が既に存在するというのに、なぜかいまだに「トランス問題」などと言って差別を正当化するような党員が存在する。その方がはるかに問題だよ。" / X" Twitter. Retrieved 2025-22-03. - ↑ ““The Chinese leadership’s mistake is extremely serious. That action does not deserve the name of the Communist Party,” party chief Kazuo Shii said at its convention, held for the first time in three years, referring to Beijing’s expansionary activities in the East and South China seas.”
"Japanese Communist Party slams China in first platform change since 2004" (2020-01-18). The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 19 February, 2020. Retrieved 10 November, 2024. - ↑ Kazuo Shii (2023-11-06). "JCP calls on governments concerned to work to stop genocide in Gaza" Japanese Communist Party. Archived from the original on 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
- ↑ Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Shii Kazuo (2022-10-13). "Responding to the UNGA resolution, Russia should stop its unlawful aggression and annexation, and immediately withdraw all of its military force. The JCP calls for maximum diplomatic efforts for a peaceful political resolution"