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Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

JCP Congress and Japan in the world
Akahata 'Current' column

The cold weather somewhat eased. Walking along the mountain slope leading to the Izu Study Hall, where the Japanese Communist Party 24th Congress is held, I heard footsteps close behind me. It was Shiokawa Tetsuya, a JCP member of the House of Representatives. He is a fast walker. "Members of parliament have to travel around quickly, so they need to be strong physically." Trying to not fall behind him, I walked as fast as I could in order to ask him to tell me what he thought about the proceedings of the JCP Congress that he was attending.

When he traveled to Fukui Prefecture in northwest Japan as a member of the JCP task force on snow-related accidents, an official of a municipality said to Shiokawa: "Twenty years ago, we had the power to remove the snow from the roofs of houses. But nowadays, the population here is aging. Can you imagine what would happen if the 'small government' policy prevails?

Shiokawa was walking with grassroots people's anger at government policies of neoliberalism in mind.

A little before 1;00pm, about 960 delegates were awaiting the opening of the JCP Congress.

Foreign guests from various parts of the world appeared on the stage. Among the 31 international guests from 17 countries was a Buddhist in a yellow folded robe, a representative of the Communist party of Sri Lanka. The hall was colored with internationalism. Foreign diplomatic corps attending the Congress included the ambassador of Afghanistan, a country which is still plagued with war.

JCP Central Committee Chair Fuwa Tetsuzo warned that we should not evaluate Japanese politics only by domestic political power relations. The world's countries are interrelated in the political, economic, and cultural fields. Japanese politics should be seen within the context of developments worldwide.

In an era of "globalization," the JCP Congress that has just opened stands for interaction between grassroots movements and world affairs.
-Akahata January 12, 2006