jcp

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

Take pride in the 78 years of Akahata
-Akahata editorial (excerpts)

The first issue of Newspaper Akahata was published on February 1, 1928, six years after the founding of the Japanese Communist Party.

During these eventful 78 years there have been wars of aggression causing enormous calamities, economic upheaval, and major disasters. Akahata has always taken a firm stand for justice in reporting the truth and condemning the outrages of power.

At the time when Akahata began to be published, the JCP which called for the realization of people's sovereignty and opposed the war of aggression was prohibited by the Tennoist government from carrying out its activities. Notwithstanding persecution and suppression, Akahata was published clandestinely, and the paper was secretly circulated among readers.

In 1931, when all commercial papers were unanimous in supporting and even glorifying the war of aggression, Akahata was the only paper to stand firm in opposition to the war of aggression. It was a lodestar in an era of suppression.

After World War II, the new Constitution established the freedoms of speech and expression, and newspapers, broadcast media, and other mass media greatly developed.

However, as indicated by their reports on the 1960 struggle against the revision of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, commercial news media continue to show their weak attitudes toward power and lack the courage to report the truth.

In reporting on the U.S. invasion of Iraq, only Akahata used the term "aggression." Concerning the issue of constitutional revision, the daily Sankei Shimbun last year wrote that "pro-constitutional" papers no longer remained among the major newspapers. This makes us feel how important it is for Akahata to play its part as the only national newspaper to oppose constitutional revision.

We will implement the JCP 24th Congress Resolution, stating, "The role of Akahata, being true to journalism's mission of reporting truth and watching political power is like a torch in the darkness, a ray of reason and conscience."
-Akahata, February 1, 2006