October 28, 2018

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on an online news site on October 24 spoke on topics ranging from the party's outlook on a coalition government to the Japan-U.S. alliance, the Self-Defense Forces, the JCP stance on the imperial system, and the relationships with North Korea and China.

Shii in an interview with J-CAST News said that the primary task for a coalition government composed of current opposition parties will be restoration of democracy and constitutionalism by revoking the national security legislation (war laws) and reversing the Cabinet decision allowing Japan's participation in collective self-defense.

Regarding the SDF, Shii said, "In a coalition government, we as one of the governing parties will temporarily accept the SDF existence and also accept its constitutionality, differing from our original position. This state of guarded acceptance will unavoidably continue for a certain period of time." He, however, explained that the JCP has a long-term vision in regard to the SDF, saying, "Only after the situation surrounding Japan peacefully matures and the majority of the general public comes to feel secure without the SDF, the stipulation of Article 9 of the Constitution will be fully implemented."

As for the imperial system, Shii referred to Article 4 of the Constitution and highlighted the importance of a provision of Article 4 which states: The Emperor "shall not have powers related to government". Shii said, "The imperial system is constitutional, so whether the system should be abolished or not must be decided by the full will of the populace. The JCP stance toward this issue is very clear: It is the people who judge what to do with the imperial system. For the time being, a coalition government which our party pursues will strictly comply with the constitutional provisions on the Emperor."

About the relationship with the Workers Party of Korea, Shii said that the relationship between the JCP and the WPK has been broken off for about 35 years. Shii went on to say that the JCP welcomes the recent moves toward denuclearizing and achieving true peace on the Korean Peninsula through diplomatic efforts, but added, "We, however, do not believe that North Korea is socialist-oriented or aims to be socialist."

Shii moved on to the issue of the relationship with the Communist Party of China, and said, "The JCP is now strongly concerned about emerging Chinese hegemonism," pointing out that China is forcibly changing the status quo in the East and the South China Seas. Shii quoted Article 2 of the Japan-China treaty of peace which states that neither party seeks hegemony and is opposed to hegemony, and said, "What China is doing goes against this treaty. The Japanese government should dispute this issue in a diplomatic manner."