'Eighty Years of the Japanese Communist Party' will help us discover history that guide us today -- Akahata editorial, January 23 (excerpts)

The Eighty Years of the Japanese Communist Party has been published. JCP Executive Committee Chair Shii Kazuo says it shows clearly that history provides us with strength to live the present and envision the future.

No Japanese political party, except the JCP, has such a long history as the JCP, or is capable of publicly discussing its own history, prewar and postwar.

The Liberal Democratic Party, which has the second longest history after the JCP, was established after the end of the War. Its prewar forerunner conservative parties were tainted with a history of shameful involvement with the war of aggression.

The Social Democratic Party, which used to be called the Socialist Party, has as long a history as the LDP. The Komei Party, which made a pause, has never published its history. All the other parties have a much shorter history.

The "Eighty Years" reminds us of many things that suggest that the JCP's 80 year history provides strength to live the present and envision the future.

In dealing with the issue of peace, for example, the JCP is currently taking active part in 'opposition party diplomacy' aimed at averting war on Iraq and solve the problem by peaceful means.

These JCP activities have been made possible by a postwar legacy of its effort to establish its sovereign independence through a struggle against interference by the former Soviet Union and China's Mao Zedong group, an effort that has earned respect and trust from abroad because of the JCP's firm position of refusing to capitulate before pressure by any big powers. What underlies this is the proud role it played in the prewar struggle to stop the war and achieve peace even at the risk of their lives.

Concerning the nation's economy, the JCP's "remaking Japan" proposal is aimed at establishing democratic rules to control the irresponsible social activities of major corporations. This also is confirmed by history in which the JCP for more than 40 years has developed the political line established in the JCP Program adopted at the beginning of the 1960s with the immediate objective of achieving democratic change in Japanese society.

The "Eighty Years" provides us with a lot of information which will be helpful in thinking about not only the JCP's history, but also Japan's political history and political parties.

Look at what happened to Japan in the wake of its defeat in World War II. Japan technically became a "sovereign nation" but the fact of the matter is that Japan was tied to the yoke of subordination to the United States. At the time, the predecessor of the present LDP was the only political party to support Japan's entry into a military alliance with the United States.

Today, more than 50 years later, the JCP is the only party to oppose the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and call for Japan's independence and sovereignty to be regained. The "Eighty Years" points out that this represents serious shortcomings in Japan's politics.

In the 1990s, a series of political realignments prompted parties to repeated mergers and splits. This paved the way for the establishment of the present LDP-Komei-New conservative coalition government. In the opposition camp, the practice of excluding the JCP that began in the 1980s broke down in the 1990s, providing conditions for opposition parties to develop their joint struggle.

The "Eighty Years" states that this "marked a positive political change that will have an important bearing on Japan's political front in the 21st century."

It also explains the reason why their joint struggle is limited to some issues. It says, "The opposition camp is unable to establish a common policy leverage for breaking the framework of LDP government.
Build strength to pave the way for a bright future

Soon after its founding 80 years ago, the JCP was put under a brutal suppression and persecution by the Tenno (emperor) government. Since the end of WWII, the JCP has been publicly carrying out its activities. It now has a membership of more than 400,000. The activities of the JCP are widely known to the public in and out of Japan.

The "Eighty Years" states:

"Results and achievements of JCP activities in the 20th century provide the strength necessary to develop a bright future for Japan and the rest of the world in the 21st century.ﾓ (end)